DNI vows ‘assessment’ of potential risk before Mar-a-Lago raid as Trump slams ‘egregious assault’ on democracy

The Director of National Intelligence will give an "assessment" to lawmakers regarding the "potential risk" to national security after President Trump kept secret documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines along with other officials will give an “assessment” to top lawmakers about “the potential risk” to national security posed by former President Trump allegedly keeping top secret documents at his Florida residence, Fox News has learned.

Haines sent a letter to Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. as well as Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and informed them both about the decision.

In a joint statement, Reps. Maloney and Schiff said that they are “pleased” by the decision.

“We are pleased that in response to our inquiry, Director Haines has confirmed that the Intelligence Community and Department of Justice are assessing the damage caused by the improper storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. The DOJ affidavit, partially unsealed yesterday, 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—a process that should proceed in parallel with DOJ’s criminal investigation,” they wrote.

FEDERAL JUDGE UNSEALS REDACTED TRUMP RAID AFFIDAVIT THAT FBI USED TO SEARCH MAR-A-LAGO

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a hearing on worldwide threats as Russia continues to attack Ukraine, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The affidavit unsealed on Friday revealed that the FBI had “probable cause to believe” that records that have classified information, which include National Defense information, would be at Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former President Trump.

The affidavit was heavily redacted, with 20 out of the 38 pages being with significantly or fully redacted.

“A preliminary triage of the documents with classification markings revealed the following approximate numbers: 184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET,” the affidavit states. 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff does a TV interview at the Capitol on July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FBI SAID IT HAD ‘PROBABLE CAUSE’ TO BELIEVE ADDITIONAL CLASSIFIED DOCS REMAINED AT MAR-A-LAGO, AFFIDAVIT SAYS

Trump took to social media on Saturday and called the raid conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations on Aug. 8 “one of the most egregious assaults on democracy.”

“The Raid on my home, Mar-a-Lago, is one of the most egregious assaults on democracy in the history of our Country which is, by the way, going to places, in a very bad way, it has never seen before!,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump also asked in a Truth Social post when FBI agents are going to say “we aren’t going to take it anymore.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia James for a civil investigation on Aug. 10, 2022, in New York City.  (James Devaney/GC Images)

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“When are the great Agents, and others, in the FBI going to say “we aren’t going to take it anymore,” much as they did when James Comey read off a list of all of Crooked Hillary Clinton’s crimes, only to say that no reasonable prosecutor would prosecute. The wonderful people of the FBI went absolutely “nuts,” so Comey had to backtrack and do a FAKE INVESTIGATION in order to keep them at bay. The end result, we won in 2016 (and did MUCH better in 2020!). But now the “Left” has lost their minds!!,” Trump said.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.