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- Former President Donald Trump scattered classified documents among his personal belongings, according to court records.
- The FBI found magazine and newspaper clippings, along with books, clothing and gifts at the Mar-a-Lago raid.
- Several boxes of documents contained material marked “classified” or confidential.
Former President Donald Trump kept personal items and classified government documents mixed up at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, according to unsealed court records.
A detailed inventory of the survey items showed that the FBI found “99 magazines/newspapers/press articles” in one box, in addition to documents marked top secret or confidential.
Other discovered boxes were found to contain US government photographs along with books and unspecified clothing or gifts.
The FBI also recovered dozens of blank folders printed with a “classified” label or instructions to return the contents to a military aide or staff secretary.
Last month, the FBI searched the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and found several boxes containing classified records that Trump took with him from the White House after he left office, according to released court records. Some of the boxes are clearly marked as “Top Secret,” Insider’s Sonam Sheth reported.
Under the Presidential Records Act, he was required to turn over the documents to the agency upon leaving office.
The Justice Department is now investigating whether Trump broke any laws related to the handling of government documents. A legal analyst previously said he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of violating the Espionage Act, a law dating back to World War I that essentially prohibits anyone from sharing or disseminating information that could potentially harm or disadvantage the United States.
The Justice Department is also investigating how Trump stored all of this material at his Mar-a-Lago home.
“Any evidence relating to the seized items — including, but not limited to, the nature and manner in which they were stored, and any evidence regarding specific documents or items of interest — will inform the government’s investigation,” prosecutors wrote in an unsealed status report.
“The seized materials will continue to be used to further the government’s investigation, and the investigation will continue to use and evaluate the seized materials as it takes additional investigative steps, such as through additional witness interviews and grand jury empanelment,” the Justice Department said .
Trump has so far denied all allegations of wrongdoing, saying he “declassified” the documents. He also said that “at the end of the day, everyone has to bring their work home from time to time.”
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