Feds Cite Efforts To Obstruct Investigation Of Trump Estate Documents

The FBI also seized 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified files during its Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago and found three classified documents hidden in desk drawers, according to a filing that presents the most detailed timeline yet today of tainted interactions between Justice Department officials and Trump officials over the discovery of government secrets. Tuesday night’s filing included a photo showing the covers of a pile of classified documents with a paper clip — some marked “TOP SECRET//SCI” with bold yellow borders and one marked “SECRET//SCI” with a rust-colored border — along with blank pages, spread out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago. Next to them sits a cardboard box filled with gold-framed photos, including a Time magazine cover. The filing offers yet another indication of the sheer volume of classified records recovered from Mar-a-Lago. It shows how investigators conducting a criminal investigation have focused not only on why the files were improperly stored there, but also on whether the Trump team deliberately misled them about the continued and illegal presence of government secrets. The document sheds new light on the events of last May and June, when FBI and Justice Department officials issued a subpoena for the missing records and then visited a warehouse at Mar-a-Lago that contained top-secret documents and other information. During that June visit, the document says, Trump’s lawyers told investigators that all records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago warehouse — and that “there were no other files stored in any private office space or other location at the Premises and that all available boxes were searched.” After that, however, the Justice Department “developed evidence that government records were likely to be hidden and removed from the Vault and that efforts were likely made to obstruct the government’s investigation.” In their search earlier this month, agents found classified documents in both the warehouse and the former president’s office, including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in desks. The filing is in response to a request by Trump’s legal team for a special master to review documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter. Trump’s lawyers last week requested the appointment of a special master charged with reviewing the obtained records and removing documents protected by claims of legal privilege. Cannon said Saturday that it was her “preliminary intention” to appoint such a person, but also gave the Justice Department a chance to respond. On Monday, the department said it had already completed its review of the potentially privileged documents and identified a “limited set of materials that may contain privileged attorney-client information.” In a separate development, Trump’s legal team has grown with the addition of another lawyer. Chris Kise, a former Florida attorney general, has joined the team of lawyers representing Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the move by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Kise did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Colvin and Balsamo reported from New York.

title: “Feds Cite Efforts To Obstruct Investigation Of Trump Estate Documents Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Wilbert Knotts”

The FBI also seized 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified files during its Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago and found three classified documents hidden in desk drawers, according to a filing that presents the most detailed timeline yet today of tainted interactions between Justice Department officials and Trump officials over the discovery of government secrets. Tuesday night’s filing included a photo showing the covers of a pile of classified documents with a paper clip — some marked “TOP SECRET//SCI” with bold yellow borders and one marked “SECRET//SCI” with a rust-colored border — along with blank pages, spread out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago. Next to them sits a cardboard box filled with gold-framed photos, including a Time magazine cover. The filing offers yet another indication of the sheer volume of classified records recovered from Mar-a-Lago. It shows how investigators conducting a criminal investigation have focused not only on why the files were improperly stored there, but also on whether the Trump team deliberately misled them about the continued and illegal presence of government secrets. The document sheds new light on the events of last May and June, when FBI and Justice Department officials issued a subpoena for the missing records and then visited a warehouse at Mar-a-Lago that contained top-secret documents and other information. During that June visit, the document says, Trump’s lawyers told investigators that all records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago warehouse — and that “there were no other files stored in any private office space or other location at the Premises and that all available boxes were searched.” After that, however, the Justice Department “developed evidence that government records were likely to be hidden and removed from the Vault and that efforts were likely made to obstruct the government’s investigation.” In their search earlier this month, agents found classified documents in both the warehouse and the former president’s office, including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in desks. The filing is in response to a request by Trump’s legal team for a special master to review documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter. Trump’s lawyers last week requested the appointment of a special master charged with reviewing the obtained records and removing documents protected by claims of legal privilege. Cannon said Saturday that it was her “preliminary intention” to appoint such a person, but also gave the Justice Department a chance to respond. On Monday, the department said it had already completed its review of the potentially privileged documents and identified a “limited set of materials that may contain privileged attorney-client information.” In a separate development, Trump’s legal team has grown with the addition of another lawyer. Chris Kise, a former Florida attorney general, has joined the team of lawyers representing Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the move by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Kise did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Colvin and Balsamo reported from New York.

title: “Feds Cite Efforts To Obstruct Investigation Of Trump Estate Documents Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-11” author: “Albert Aldrich”

The FBI also seized 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified files during its Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago and found three classified documents hidden in desk drawers, according to a filing that presents the most detailed timeline yet today of tainted interactions between Justice Department officials and Trump officials over the discovery of government secrets. Tuesday night’s filing included a photo showing the covers of a pile of classified documents with a paper clip — some marked “TOP SECRET//SCI” with bold yellow borders and one marked “SECRET//SCI” with a rust-colored border — along with blank pages, spread out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago. Next to them sits a cardboard box filled with gold-framed photos, including a Time magazine cover. The filing offers yet another indication of the sheer volume of classified records recovered from Mar-a-Lago. It shows how investigators conducting a criminal investigation have focused not only on why the files were improperly stored there, but also on whether the Trump team deliberately misled them about the continued and illegal presence of government secrets. The document sheds new light on the events of last May and June, when FBI and Justice Department officials issued a subpoena for the missing records and then visited a warehouse at Mar-a-Lago that contained top-secret documents and other information. During that June visit, the document says, Trump’s lawyers told investigators that all records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago warehouse — and that “there were no other files stored in any private office space or other location at the Premises and that all available boxes were searched.” After that, however, the Justice Department “developed evidence that government records were likely to be hidden and removed from the Vault and that efforts were likely made to obstruct the government’s investigation.” In their search earlier this month, agents found classified documents in both the warehouse and the former president’s office, including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in desks. The filing is in response to a request by Trump’s legal team for a special master to review documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter. Trump’s lawyers last week requested the appointment of a special master charged with reviewing the obtained records and removing documents protected by claims of legal privilege. Cannon said Saturday that it was her “preliminary intention” to appoint such a person, but also gave the Justice Department a chance to respond. On Monday, the department said it had already completed its review of the potentially privileged documents and identified a “limited set of materials that may contain privileged attorney-client information.” In a separate development, Trump’s legal team has grown with the addition of another lawyer. Chris Kise, a former Florida attorney general, has joined the team of lawyers representing Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the move by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Kise did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Colvin and Balsamo reported from New York.

title: “Feds Cite Efforts To Obstruct Investigation Of Trump Estate Documents Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-22” author: “Kayla Hankins”

The FBI also seized 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified files during its Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago and found three classified documents hidden in desk drawers, according to a filing that presents the most detailed timeline yet today of tainted interactions between Justice Department officials and Trump officials over the discovery of government secrets. Tuesday night’s filing included a photo showing the covers of a pile of classified documents with a paper clip — some marked “TOP SECRET//SCI” with bold yellow borders and one marked “SECRET//SCI” with a rust-colored border — along with blank pages, spread out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago. Next to them sits a cardboard box filled with gold-framed photos, including a Time magazine cover. The filing offers yet another indication of the sheer volume of classified records recovered from Mar-a-Lago. It shows how investigators conducting a criminal investigation have focused not only on why the files were improperly stored there, but also on whether the Trump team deliberately misled them about the continued and illegal presence of government secrets. The document sheds new light on the events of last May and June, when FBI and Justice Department officials issued a subpoena for the missing records and then visited a warehouse at Mar-a-Lago that contained top-secret documents and other information. During that June visit, the document says, Trump’s lawyers told investigators that all records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago warehouse — and that “there were no other files stored in any private office space or other location at the Premises and that all available boxes were searched.” After that, however, the Justice Department “developed evidence that government records were likely to be hidden and removed from the Vault and that efforts were likely made to obstruct the government’s investigation.” In their search earlier this month, agents found classified documents in both the warehouse and the former president’s office, including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in desks. The filing is in response to a request by Trump’s legal team for a special master to review documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter. Trump’s lawyers last week requested the appointment of a special master charged with reviewing the obtained records and removing documents protected by claims of legal privilege. Cannon said Saturday that it was her “preliminary intention” to appoint such a person, but also gave the Justice Department a chance to respond. On Monday, the department said it had already completed its review of the potentially privileged documents and identified a “limited set of materials that may contain privileged attorney-client information.” In a separate development, Trump’s legal team has grown with the addition of another lawyer. Chris Kise, a former Florida attorney general, has joined the team of lawyers representing Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the move by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Kise did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Colvin and Balsamo reported from New York.