Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Inset: Donald Trump.Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty. Inset: Zach Gibson - Pool/Getty
Weeks after FBI agents searchedDonald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence for classified information, an employee of the former president has reportedly told agents that they wereinstructed to move boxesfrom a storage unit to a residence at the property — at the direction of Trump himself.
CNN reports that “a source familiar with the witness' description” has told the FBI they were directed to move boxes from a basement storage room at Mar-a-Lago to Trump’s residence at the members-only Palm Beach property.
The outlet reports that the transport of the boxes was caught on surveillance footage, which the FBI has since obtained.
According to CNN, the boxes were moved after federal investigatorsissued a subpoenafor access to classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
The controversy surrounding Trump’s storage of potentially classified documents began shortly after he left office and returned to Mar-a-Lago; the National Archives and Records Administration inquired about missing records,ultimately retrieving 15 boxes of documentsthat Trump had brought to Mar-a-Lago.
In May 2022, the Justice Department issued a subpoena for additional records. FBI agents paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago the following month to inquire about other documents that may have been left behind at the property. (Trump’s attorneys wrote in a court filing that Trump himself was on-site and greeted the agents at one point during this meeting.)
The FBI ultimately collected 38 classified documents that day, along with a signed letter from the Trump team certifying that “a diligent search” of the property had been conducted and all classified documents had been handed over.
But according to a court filing, the FBI later uncovered “multiple sources of evidence indicating that … classified documents remained at the Premises” after that June visit.
Days after the search was conducted,the search warrant and property receipt from Aug. 8 were made public, revealing that the FBI was looking to gather anything that might show Trump had removed or destroyed records, obstructed justice orviolated the Espionage Act.
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Among the many materials retrieved during the Aug. 8 search were 11 sets ofclassified documents, including some marked “top secret” that are only meant to be viewed at secure government facilities.The Washington Posthas reported that “a document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities,” was also among the items seized.
CNN reports that the Trump employee who allegedly moved the boxes first told investigators they had not handled any sensitive documents or boxes at Mar-a-Lago. The outlet adds that once the FBI “developed evidence that prompted investigators to go back to the witness,” the person revised their story, telling investigators that Trump himself had given instructions on moving the boxes.
source: people.com
