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A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 1 sepTember 2022
Continued from Front "That the FBI, in a matter of
The timeline laid out by the hours, recovered twice as
Justice Department made many documents with clas-
clear that the extraordi- sification markings as the
nary search of Mar-a-Lago 'diligent search' that the
came only after other ef- former President's counsel
forts to retrieve the records and other representatives
had failed and that it result- had weeks to perform calls
ed from law enforcement into serious question the
suspicion that additional representations made in
documents remained in- the June 3 certification and
side the property despite casts doubt on the extent
assurances by Trump rep- of cooperation in this mat-
resentatives that a "diligent ter," the document states.
search" had accounted for It says, "In some instances,
all of the material. even the FBI counterintelli-
It also included a picture of gence personnel and DOJ
some of the seized docu- attorneys conducting the
ments with colored cov- review required additional
er sheets indicating their clearances before they
classified status, perhaps were permitted to review
as a way to rebut sugges- certain documents."
tions that whoever packed The investigation began
them or handled them at from a referral from the
Mar-a-Lago could have National Archives and Re-
easily failed to appreciate cords Administration, which
their sensitive nature. recovered 15 boxes from
The photo shows the cover Mar-a-Lago in January that
pages of a smattering of were found to contain 184
paperclip-bound classi- documents with classified
fied documents — some markings, including top se-
marked as "TOP SECRET// This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted cret information.
SCI" with bright yellow bor- by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of The purpose of the Tues-
ders and one marked as former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. day night filing was to op-
"SECRET//SCI" with a rust- Associated Press pose a request from the
colored border — along Trump legal team for a
with whited-out pages, records, including 38 docu- terials were given "a single Mar-a-Lago storage room special master to review
splayed out on a carpet at ments with classification Redweld envelope, dou- — and that "there were no the documents seized dur-
Mar-a-Lago. Beside them markings, remained at the ble-wrapped in tape, con- other records stored in any ing this month's search and
sits a cardboard box filled Premises nearly five months taining the documents," private office space or oth- to return to him certain
with gold-framed pictures, after the production of the the filing states. er location at the Premises seized property. U.S. District
including a Time magazine Fifteen Boxes and nearly That envelope, accord- and that all available box- Judge Aileen Cannon is set
cover. one-and-a-half years after ing to the FBI, contained es were searched." to hear arguments on the
Though it contains signifi- the end of the Administra- 38 unique documents with After that, though, the de- matter on Thursday.
cant new details on the tion." That visit, which came classification markings, partment, which had sub- Cannon on Saturday said it
investigation, the Justice weeks after the Justice De- including 16 documents poenaed video footage was her "preliminary intent"
Department filing does partment issued a subpoe- marked secret and 17 for the property, "devel- to appoint such a person
not resolve a core ques- na for the records, receives marked top secret. oped evidence that gov- but also gave the Justice
tion that has driven public substantial attention in the The investigators were per- ernment records were likely Department an opportu-
fascination with the inves- document and appears to mitted to visit the storage concealed and removed nity to respond.
tigation — why Trump held be a key investigative fo- room but were not allowed from the Storage Room On Monday, the depart-
onto the documents after cus. to open or look inside any and that efforts were likely ment said it had already
he left the White House Though Trump insisted of the boxes, "giving no op- taken to obstruct the gov- completed its review of
and why he and his team again Wednesday that he portunity for the govern- ernment's investigation." potentially privileged doc-
resisted repeated efforts to had declassified the docu- ment to confirm that no The filing does not identify uments and identified a
give them back. In fact, it ments at Mar-a-Lago, his documents with classifica- the individuals who may "limited set of materials
suggests officials may not lawyers did not suggest that tion markings remained," have relocated the boxes. that potentially contain
have received an answer. during the visit and instead the Justice Department In their August search, attorney-client privileged
During a June 3 visit to Mar- "handled them in a manner says. agents found classified information." It said Tues-
a-Lago by FBI and Justice that suggested counsel be- During that visit, the docu- documents both in the stor- day that a special master
Department officials, the lieved that the documents ment says, Trump's lawyers age room as well as in the was therefore "unneces-
document states, "Counsel were classified," the Justice told investigators that all former president's office — sary" and that the presiden-
for the former President of- Department said. the records that had come including three classified tial records that were taken
fered no explanation as to FBI agents who went there from the White House were documents found not in from the home do not be-
why boxes of government to receive additional ma- stored in one location — a boxes, but in office desks. long to Trump.q

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