Trump took classified documents to Florida
February 19, 2022
The US National Archives said in a letter addressed to Congress on Friday that it had informed the Department of Justice that there was classified information among the 15 boxes of documents it had recovered from former US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
In a letter to the oversight committee chair, Representative Carolyn Maloney, US archivist David Ferriero wrote that the archives had "identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes."
Ferriero noted many Trump White House aides would conduct official business over private email without copying in their official White House accounts.
What state secrets Trump took with him when he left office are unknown.
Who in Congress is looking into the situation?
The House oversight committee has been investigating Trump's handling of White House documents.
In a statement, committee chair Maloney said, "These new revelations deepen my concern about former President Trump's flagrant disregard for federal records laws and the potential impact on our historical record."
Why is this damaging for Trump?
Trump won the presidency in part by exploiting populist outrage over rival candidate Hillary Clinton's private email server when she was secretary of state.
The Washington Post first reported last week that Trump had removed classified information from the White House and taken it with him to Florida when he departed the office of the presidency in January 2021.
The Presidential Records Act mandates the preservation of a US president's notes, emails, documents, memoranda and assorted other documents related to the office and official duties.
Trump lost his lawsuit to prevent the transfer of records relating to the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill from the National Archives to the congressional committee investigating the organization and money trail behind events of that day.
ar/fb (AP, Reuters)