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U.S. intelligence to conduct risk assessment of recovered Mar-a-Lago materials -letter

Published 08/27/2022, 02:15 PM
Updated 08/27/2022, 06:06 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community will assess the potential risk to national security of disclosure of materials recovered during the Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump's Florida residence, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The letter dated Friday from National Intelligence Director (DNI) Avril Haines to House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff and Oversight Committee chair Carolyn Maloney also said the Justice Department and DNI "are working together to facilitate a classification review" of materials including those recovered during the search.

Schiff and Maloney said in a joint statement they were pleased the government was "assessing the damage caused by the improper storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago." Politico reported the letter earlier.

The Justice Department on Friday disclosed that it was investigating Trump for removing White House records because it believed he illegally held documents including some involving intelligence-gathering and clandestine human sources - among America's most closely held secrets.

Haines said DNI "will also lead an Intelligence Community (IC) assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents" including those seized.

A spokesman for Trump, Taylor Budowich, accused Schiff of being reckless with U.S. intelligence and asserted Democrats had "weaponized the intel community against President Trump with selective and dishonest leaks."

The Justice Department on Friday released a heavily redacted affidavit that underpinned the FBI's extraordinary search of Mar-a-Lago in which agents seized 11 sets of classified records including some labeled "top secret" as documents that could gravely threaten national security if exposed.

In the affidavit, an unidentified FBI agent said the agency reviewed and identified 184 documents "bearing classification markings" containing "national defense information" after Trump in January returned 15 boxes of government records sought by the U.S. National Archives. Other records in those boxes, according to the affidavit, bore handwritten notes by Trump.

Schiff and Maloney said the Justice Department release Friday "affirms our grave concern that among the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago were those that could endanger human sources. It is critical that the IC move swiftly to assess and, if necessary, to mitigate the damage done."

Haines wrote DNI will closely coordinate with the Justice Department to "ensure this IC assessment is conducted in a manner that does not unduly interfere with DOJ's ongoing criminal investigation."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

The search was part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed and kept documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden and whether Trump tried to obstruct the probe.

Trump, a Republican who is considering another presidential run in 2024, has described the court-approved search at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach as politically motivated, and on Friday again described it as a "break-in."

Latest comments

check to see if he gave them to his masters, putin, peskov and Lavrov!
the guy is uneducated and can't read, so he had to have stolen them for someone else? who?
Trump isnt a president anymore.. he's a bad golfer. He shouldn't have had any of this stuff.
to bad the Republicans don't have any good candidates, per mitch McConnell. there is a reason why with anyone of intelligence moves out of the deep red states
 remember when after the 2012 election some republicans said they need to stop being the party of stupid?  clearly most of the GOP didn't get that memo
Brad you can't grasp a potato. America is just a banana Republic now. looks like offshoring was a good call. Have fun in the political police state you broke joke.
Isn't that like asking the fox to watch the hen house???
Close. Its more like the fox taking the eggs to his den and refusing to give them back when asked.
trump is so F'd on this - will be held accountable
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