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Trump FBI warrant: Justice Obstruct, Espionage Act violation

Trump FBI warrant: Justice Obstruct, Espionage Act violation

Trump FBI warrant: Justice Obstruct, Espionage Act violation

Newslooks- Politico

A search warrant reveals that the FBI is investigating Donald Trump for potential violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice laws.

A search warrant newly unsealed on Friday reveals that the FBI is investigating Donald Trump for a potential violation of the Espionage Act and removed classified documents from the former president’s Florida estate earlier this week.

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Justice Department Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A receipt accompanying the search warrant, viewed by POLITICO in advance of its unsealing, shows that Trump possessed documents including a handwritten note; documents marked with “TS/SCI,” which indicates one of the highest levels of government classification; and another item labeled “Info re: President of France.”

Also among the items taken from Mar-a-Lago this week: An item labeled “Executive grant of clemency re: Roger Jason Stone, Jr.,” a reference to one of Trump’s closest confidants who received a pardon in late 2020.

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks to journalists at the Omaha FBI office on Wednesday, Aug.10, 2022, in Omaha, Neb. Wray addressed threats made to law enforcement after agents raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

The warrant shows federal law enforcement was investigating Trump for removal or destruction of records, obstruction of justice and violating the Espionage Act — which can encompass crimes beyond spying, such as the refusal to return national security documents upon request. Conviction under the statutes can result in imprisonment or fines.

The documents, unsealed after the Justice Department sought their public disclosure amid relentless attacks by Trump and his GOP allies, underscore the extraordinary national security threat that federal investigators believed the missing documents presented. The concern grew so acute that Attorney General Merrick Garland approved the unprecedented search of Trump’s estate last week.

The notice filed by the Justice Department to the U.S. District Court South District of Florida informing the judge that lawyers for former President Donald Trump did not object to the government’s motion to unseal the search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, is photographed Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

The disclosure of the documents comes four days after Trump publicly confirmed the court-authorized search of his Mar-a-Lago home by the FBI, marshaling his political allies to unleash fierce criticism of federal investigators. But the details in the warrant underscore the gravity of the probe — an unprecedented investigation of a former president for mishandling some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets.

Trump has claimed since Monday that he has cooperated with investigators from the National Archives and FBI for months and that the unannounced search was an unnecessary escalation. But after several rounds of negotiations in which materials were recovered by the Archives, federal investigators came to believe Trump hadn’t returned everything in his possession.

CORRECTS DAY OF WEEK TO WEDNESDAY, NOT TUESDAY – An aerial view of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is pictured, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

The search warrant, signed on Aug. 5 by federal magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart, revealed that dozens of items were seized, most of them described in vague terms like “leatherbound box of documents,” “binder of photos” and “handwritten note.”

Other items on the list indicate the presence of classified material, describing them as “miscellaneous top secret documents” and “miscellaneous confidential documents.”

Paul G. Rogers Federal Courthouse is shown Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, in West Palm Beach, Fla. A federal judge was to decide whether to grant the Department of Justice’s request to unseal the warrant that authorized the FBI to search former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The decision on whether to unseal the records lay with U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who may issue his order from the Paul G. Rogers Federal Courthouse on Friday. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Stone’s attorney Grant Smith said that the longtime Trump ally “has no knowledge as to the facts surrounding his clemency documents appearing on the inventory of items seized from former President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.”

Shortly after 3 p.m., the Justice Department confirmed that Trump’s lawyers would not oppose the public release of the search warrant and underlying receipt of materials, which had already begun to circulate widely.

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