Former President Donald Trump had about two dozen boxes of documents, including some labeled as “highly classified,” in his White House residence before leaving office and never returned them to the National Archives, according to a new report.
The report, published by the New York Times early Saturday evening, noted that the final destination of those two dozen boxes “is not clear.” Officials with the National Archives, according to the New York Times, reached out to numerous White House officials as the then-president and his team were in the midst of simultaneously fighting the 2020 election results and taking part in an orderly transition to the Biden administration. Those the National Archives officials reached out to had insisted on getting back a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as a letter left on the Resolute Desk by then-President Barack Obama for Trump.
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The officials did not get those documents, as well as others they requested, until they traveled to Mar-a-Lago in January of this year and retrieved 15 boxes of materials. They then referred the matter to the Justice Department, according to the report, and a grand jury was formed.
One of the 45th president’s lawyers signed a statement in June, the outlet also reported, asserting that all requested documents with classified markings had been returned. Instead, however, they were being stored in a basement area at the Palm Beach, Florida, estate. DOJ officials would later go on to file a “detailed affidavit to a federal judge in Florida, revealing that the department believed possible crimes had been committed.”
Last week’s search by the FBI was reportedly related to boxes of documents Trump brought back with him to his Florida resort after leaving office. The National Archives and Records Administration said some presidential records in 15 boxes obtained from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year included materials marked as classified.
The warrant that allowed FBI agents to execute the search, unsealed last Friday, revealed that the former president was being investigated for a possible violation of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.
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FBI agents found several classified documents during the raid of the residence, with some documents being considered the highest level of classification, according to the warrant. In its search, the agency recovered 11 sets of classified documents among 20 boxes that were taken, including handwritten notes, binders full of photos, and the executive grant of clemency given to Trump ally Roger Stone.
Trump has not been charged in the incident, and the investigation into the handling of White House documents is underway. However, the warrant detailed possible violations of several U.S. statutes. The former president rejected reports indicating that the FBI obtained multiple sets of classified information from the Florida resort, saying that the files he possessed were “all declassified.”
