Highly sensitive documents were seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida home – those included top secret, intelligence documents pertaining to Iran and China that risked exposure of US spying methods. Among the documents retrieved by Justice Department investigators was one that described Iran’s missile programme, and another that “described highly sensitive intelligence work aimed at China”. Another tranche of classified documents was discovered on Nov 2 in a locked cupboard in the Presidential Office. All these classified documents should have been in the possession of the National Archives.
Former US President Donald Trump had kept highly sensitive – classified documents for more than a year after departing the White House, and did not return them immediately or willingly despite numerous requests by the National Archives.
Documents retrieved – Iran’s missile programme and Chinese surveillance
Among the documents retrieved by Justice Department investigators was one that described Iran’s missile programme, and another that “described highly sensitive intelligence work aimed at China.
Trump was suspected of violating the Espionage Act, which forbids the retention and sharing of highly sensitive documents pertaining to national defence.
He was also suspected of obstruction, after his attorneys had told the department in June that there were no more government documents held at Mar-a-Lago – his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, last August.
On that visit, Trump’s advisers returned a few dozen additional classified records and attested that no other classified material remained in the residence.
Investigators time and again requested Trump to return any remaining classified records through a grand jury subpoena and a visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. A Grand Jury subpoena is an indictment by the prosecutor to gather evidence to make the case and the recipient of the subpoena has to comply with the terms of the indictment or face specific consequences.
FBI searched and found 13000 additional records after obtaining Court Orders
Suspecting possible obstruction of justice, the FBI sought and obtained court approval in August to search his home, where agents found more than 13,000 additional records, about 100 of them highly classified.
100 highly sensitive top secret documents were found in Trump’s resort with little security
Among those were just over 100 classified documents, some of them classified as top secret and normally kept tightly under seal, with only a few people permitted to access them.
But at Mar-a-Lago they were kept in places including Trump’s personal office, with little security, according to the Justice Department.
Meanwhile, President Biden has expressed his shock over such uncovers and few of the classified documents from his office unearthed even before he was elected.
He said he does not know what’s in the documents but believes they were handled properly by his lawyers.
“We’re cooperating fully,” he said on Tuesday at a news conference in Mexico City.
“People know I take classified documents, classified information seriously,” he said. “I was briefed about this discovery, and surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office – White House.”
Republicans have assured of an investigation
Congressional Republicans have promised an investigation of the episode at the Biden Penn Center for Democracy & Global Engagement in Washington.
Biden has previously criticised former president Donald Trump as “totally irresponsible” after the FBI searched Mar–a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, last August and seized about 20 boxes of government documents.
They included 11 sets of classified materials, according to an unsealed affidavit.
Trump had kept them for more than a year after departing the White House, and did not return them immediately or willingly despite numerous requests by the National Archives.
Besides, the National archives have complained in an email to White House lawyers that Trump’s correspondence with North Korea’s Kim is also missing.
What statutory threats may hinder Trump’s bid for his 2024 US Pres polls
Trump has embarked on another White House run in 2024 while facing a slew of legal troubles. Lawmakers have recommended that Trump be charged in connection with the violent attack on the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
The cases could pose a distraction and produce critical revelations that no Presidential candidate would welcome.
Nevertheless, Trump is no customary politician and the legal inquiry could feed his preferred narrative that he is being unfairly targeted by the current Democratic administration and a “deep state” bureaucracy.
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Legal Cases
Trump faces possible criminal charges by the US Justice Department over classified documents found at his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and his role in the Jan 6 Capitol riot, as well as by Atlanta’s district attorney over his attempts to change the 2020 Georgia election results. On the civil side, Trump’s hurdles include a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney-General Letitia James that accuses him and three of his children of fraudulently manipulating the value of the company’s assets for years.
Can these forbid Trump from running for US Pres polls in 2024?
Probably not. Article II of the US Constitution, which lays out qualifications for the Presidency, says nothing about criminal accusations or convictions.
Trump’s opponents see two possible avenues to challenging his eligibility. One is a federal law barring the removal or destruction of government records: It says anyone convicted of the offence is disqualified from federal office. This could conceivably apply to Trump if – and this is a big if – he is charged and convicted for taking classified documents from the White House.
The other is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It says that nobody can hold a seat in Congress, or “any office, civil or military” if they are found to be “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” – Capitol Hill Riots.
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