Released search inventory showed that the classified documents had been mixed with personal items and other materials in the boxes in which they were stored.
Federal investigators also recovered more than 11,000 unclassified government documents from the Florida home and resort of former President Donald Trump.
A box containing documents marked with confidential, top secret and top secret classification IDs also contained “99 magazines/newspapers/newspaper articles,” according to the inventory from last month’s search filed in Florida federal court.
Several other boxes listed in the inventory contained documents marked classified stored with news clippings, as well as clothing and gifts.
The court filing also provided a breakdown of the type of markings on classified material taken from Mar-a-Lago, including 18 documents marked top secret, 54 documents marked secret, and 31 documents marked confidential.
Dozens of empty folders
Among the documents the FBI seized were dozens of empty folders bearing “classified” banners, according to the inventory.
There were more than 48 empty folders marked “classified” and 42 empty folders marked for return to a personnel secretary or a military assistant, the Justice Department said.
Those types of folders are designed to intentionally hide their contents and are often reused, according to multiple sources familiar with White House procedures for handling classified information. In some cases, these folders have a tracking number, two of the sources said, though such cases are rare.
To some current and former intelligence officials, the empty folders were an alarming sign that unknown classified information may go unnoticed by federal investigators, who may have a hard time piecing together what information those folders previously contained, let alone what happened to it. .
But because those folders are often reused, a source familiar with such documents cautioned that simply finding an empty folder isn’t necessarily an indication that the information it previously contained was mishandled.
“Empty folders raise questions, but were they empty and without descriptive information?” said this person. “Putting a cover in a folder and carrying it around with various documents inside is a common thing to do. It’s similar to finding covers, which are often found in classified environments and in and of themselves are not a problem.”
In other words, without more information about how these folders were marked, including whether they included any sort of tracking or control number, it’s not clear how easy it would be to determine their previous contents.
Still, the researchers can piece together some contextual clues, according to the same sources. Records are supposed to be kept of what classified information goes to the president. And one of the sources noted that the National Archives this spring informed the Justice Department that the records it recovered from Mar-a-Lago in January included classified material that was “split, mixed with other records, and otherwise misidentified.”
The inventory also references dozens of folders that are marked “Return to Secretary of Staff/Military Assistant.” Typically, when the president needs to access materials for a briefing, a military aide or other staff member assigned to the White House is responsible for safeguarding those materials. The president will read the material, make any use he wishes, and then return it to that assistant for proper handling.
DOJ status report cites an “ongoing investigation”
The judge also released a secretly filed status report from the department on his investigative team’s review of the evidence thus far.
Cannon at a hearing on Thursday indicated that he intended to release the documents. She did so after giving both prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers a chance to object to the release of the documents. They do not.
Prosecutors wrote in the released investigative team status report that “all evidence relating to the seized items, including, but not limited to, the nature and manner in which they were stored, as well as any evidence regarding to particular documents or items of interest, will inform the government’s investigation.”
“The investigation team reviewed the seized materials in support of its ongoing investigation, evaluating the relevance and character of each item seized and making preliminary determinations as to avenues of investigation suggested or warranted by the character and nature of the items seized.” says the status report. said.
“The seized materials will continue to be used to further the government’s investigation, and the investigation will continue to use and evaluate the seized materials as further investigative steps are taken, such as additional witness interviews and grand jury practice,” the Department added. of Justice. .
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Jamie Gangel contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com