Donald Trump took classified documents – some marked top secret – home to his Mar-a-Lago residence, an FBI affidavit has revealed.
The 32-page document, even in its redacted form, contains additional details of an ongoing criminal investigation into Mr. Trump as he lays the groundwork for another presidential election.
Released by the US Department of Justice, it highlights the amount of sensitive government documents Mr Trump had brought to Mar-a-Lago and the FBI fears the records were stored illegally.
While there are a number of details relating to the investigation, officials have also redacted large chunks to protect the identities of witnesses and avoid revealing sensitive investigative tactics.
According to the affidavit, 15 boxes of documents were returned to the National Archives in January.
Upon review, they discovered 184 documents bearing classification marks, including 67 marked as confidential, 92 secret and 25 top secret.
The agent said the Justice Department had reason to believe there were other such documents that had not been returned to the government and were still in Mr. Trump’s home.
The FBI submitted the affidavit to a judge so he could obtain a warrant to search Mr. Trump’s property on August 8.
Mr. Trump reacted on social media, writing: “Heavily redacted affidavit!!! Nothing mentioned about ‘Nuclear’, a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI and DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding the rotation of documents – WE GAVE THEM A LOT.
“Judge Bruce Reinhart should NEVER have authorized the burglary of my house. He recused himself two months ago from one of my cases due to his animosity and hatred of your favorite president, me.
“What’s changed? Why didn’t he recuse himself on this case? Obama must be very proud of himself right now!”
