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A2 u.s. news
Monday 6 February 2023
U.S. officials offer Congress briefing on Trump, Biden papers

By NOMAAN MERCHANT, what it found with lawmak- General Merrick Garland
MICHAEL BALSAMO, and ers who say they are con- and Director of National In-
ERIC TUCKER cerned about the potential telligence Avril Haines.
Associated Press damage to national securi- The director of national in-
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. ty and intelligence sources. telligence’s office and De-
officials have offered to Separate special counsels partment of Justice both
brief congressional leaders are investigating the docu- declined to comment Sun-
on their investigation into ments found in the posses- day.
the classified documents sion of Trump and Biden. The Justice Department
found at former President Officials have declined says roughly 300 docu-
Donald Trump’s Florida to answer most questions ments with classified mark-
residence as well as Presi- in public or private about ings, including at the top-
dent Joe Biden’s Delaware what they found, citing the secret level, have been re-
home and former private ongoing criminal investiga- covered from Mar-a-Lago
office, people familiar with tions and a separate “risk after being taken there
the matter said Sunday. This image contained in a court filing by the Department of assessment” of the possible after Trump left the White
A briefing could come as Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, damage to intelligence House. Last August, FBI
soon as this week. But it shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by sources. agents executed a search
may not meet demands the FBI of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Rep. Mike Turner, who warrant at the property af-
Florida.
from lawmakers who want Associated Press heads the House Intel- ter developing evidence
to review the documents ligence Committee, told that led them to believe
taken not just from Mar-a- NBC’s “Meet the Press” on that Trump and his repre-
Lago but also from the lo- Pence. a former president’s home Sunday that the adminis- sentatives had not returned
cations belonging to Biden Six months after federal for classified documents, tration notified him it would all the classified files.
and the Indiana home of agents first conducted an the White House faces bi- brief on the documents this The material taken at that
former Vice President Mike unprecedented search of partisan pressure to share week. time included roughly
“This administration needs 13,000 government docu-
to understand we do have ments, including about 100
national security urgent bearing classification mark-
matters,” said Turner, R- ings. Some of the material
Ohio. He also called on the was so sensitive that Justice
White House to brief him on Department prosecutors
the Chinese balloon shot and FBI counterintelligence
down Saturday. investigators required addi-
“What’s interesting is that tional security clearances
the moment this balloon to review them.
became public, I got a A special counsel, Jack
notice not from the admin- Smith, is investigating
istration that I’m going to whether to bring charges
get a briefing on this bal- against Trump or anyone
loon, but they have to rush else related to the docu-
to Congress now to talk to ments.
us about Donald Trump’s Prosecutors have revealed
documents,” he said, add- that they are investigat-
ing that a discussion of ing possible violations of
Biden and Pence’s records multiple criminal statutes,
was expected to be in- including willful retention
cluded. of national defense infor-
Three people familiar with mation and obstruction.
the matter confirmed a A grand jury in Washing-
congressional briefing was ton has been hearing evi-
offered to the “Gang of dence and federal pros-
Eight” — the Republican ecutors have interviewed
and Democratic leaders of multiple Trump associates.
the House and Senate and It is not clear how much
of both intelligence com- longer that investigation
mittees. The people spoke will last.
on condition of anonymity Trump has claimed that
to discuss intelligence mat- the materials were de-
ters. classified and that he had
Any briefing is not expect- the power to do so just by
ed to include direct ac- thinking about it, though his
cess to the documents that lawyers have not repeated
were seized, the people that claim. They tried to
said. have an independent ar-
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., biter conduct an outside
and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., review of the documents,
the chairman and vice though a federal appeals
chairman of the Senate court late last year ended
Intelligence Committee, that work and said Trump’s
asked for that access in a team was not entitled to
letter last week to Attorney that assessment.q