More Classified Records Found In Trump’s Florida Storage Unit, Reports Say

Topline

A search team that former President Donald Trump’s attorneys were court-pressed to hire discovered at least two records marked “classified” at a storage unit the ex-president used in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to multiple reports, possibly confirming suspicions the August Mar-A-Lago FBI raid did not recover all records Trump held that were marked as classified.

Then President Donald Trump makes his tough-guy face during a joint news conference with Lebanese … [+] Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the Rose Garden at the White House on July 25, 2017, in Washington.

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Key Facts

The team was hired after a federal judge ordered Trump’s lawyers to keep looking for classified documents to comply with a May subpoena requiring the former president to hand over all records marked classified.

Trump Tower in New York City, Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and a storage area at Mar-A-Lago were also reportedly searched, but there are no reports of sensitive records recovered there.

The searches were carried out around Thanksgiving, and Trump’s legal team has alerted the Justice Department of the finding, according to the New York Times, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes, but the former president has repeatedly claimed he declassified all the records he took with him after leaving the White House, though he hasn’t provided one iota of evidence to back up that assertion.

Key Background

An hours-long August 8 raid uncovered more than 100 classified documents at Mar-A-Lago, including some marked “top secret,” but the Justice Department reportedly told Trump’s lawyers afterward they believed the former president still possessed more sensitive records. Federal Judge Beryl A. Howell, the chief judge of D.C. District Court, then ordered Trump’s attorneys to carry out a search to ensure all classified documents had been handed over to prosecutors, in line with a May subpoena demanding the records. The legal saga appeared to start in January, when Trump turned over 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives, which the agency suggested he illegally took from the White House. The matter was turned over to the Justice Department in February, with its investigation leading a grand jury to issue the subpoena in May.

What To Watch For

Justice Department prosecutors reportedly determined in October they had collected enough evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of justice over holding the documents. But the investigation—along with another federal criminal probe into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results—was handed over to a special counsel last month, after Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid.

Tangent

A federal appeals court last week shut down an independent “special master” review of the documents recovered at Mar-A-Lago, which Trump requested to determine whether any records should be shielded from prosecutors due to executive or attorney-client privilege. The decision could speed up the investigation and allow for potential charges against Trump to be brought sooner.

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Key Facts

Key Background

What To Watch For

Tangent

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