- Staff members of former United States President Donald Trump reportedly moved classified Mar-a-Lago documents a day before an FBI visit
- The agency's personnel visited in response to a subpoena to retrieve the sensitive materials
- Investigators are viewing the timing as suspicious, arguing it could be a potential obstruction
Two staff members working under former United States President Donald Trump reportedly moved classified documents at the Republican's Mar-a-Lago estate a day before the FBI visited to retrieve the materials.
The agency's personnel visited in response to a subpoena, and the timing of it regarding the movement of the documents is something that investigators are seeing as suspicious. People familiar with the matter argued that it could indicate potential obstruction.
Trump Staff Moved Classified Mar-a-Lago Documents
The Republican businessman and his aides also supposedly conducted a "dress rehearsal" to move classified documents before his office received the May 2022 subpoena. The people familiar with the matter who made the claims spoke under the condition of anonymity as the investigation that is currently ongoing is considered sensitive, as per the Washington Post.
Prosecutors handling the case have also gathered additional evidence that indicates that the former president kept classified documents in his office in a location where they were visible and sometimes shown to other people at times.
The new revelations regarding the classified documents found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate suggest greater breadth and specificity to the instances of potential obstruction. Furthermore, it broadens the timeline of possible obstruction episodes that investigators are reviewing, which is a period that shows events at the estate before the subpoena to after the FBI raid.
The timeline could become crucial as prosecutors seek to determine the former president's intent in keeping the classified documents. This is considered a key factor in deciding whether or not they file charges, such as obstruction, mishandling national security secrets, or both.
Pushing Back Against the Subpoena
Kaitlan Collins asked the former president at his town hall event last week on CNN whether or not he ever showed the classified documents to anyone else. Trump then answered with, "Not really," and when to clarify what he meant, he said, "Not that I can think of," according to MSNBC.
Despite the controversy surrounding the classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, the main point of the case is not necessarily his taking the materials outside of the White House. As many have learned, a similar mistake was made by President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.
The focal point of the case is what the Republican businessman did with the classified documents after he took them to his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump not only refused to return the materials, which raised the question of whether he obstructed the retrieval process.
Before the recent development, the former president asked whether he could push back against the Justice Department's efforts to recover the classified documents. CNN said his remarks were allegedly made during conversations with his lawyer over compliance with the subpoena that was issued against him.
