Officials of the National Archives and Records Administration said they learned that the 15 boxes of White House records that had been stored at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence included classified national security information. The matter has been sent to the Justice Department.
The letter from the agency comes after the numerous reports surrounding Trump’s handling of sensitive and even classified information during his time as president and even after he left office.
The discovery could also interest federal investigators who are responsible for overseeing the handling of government secrets. However, the Justice Department or the FBI have not said they will pursue the issue, the Associated Press reported.
Federal law prohibits the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations. But it’s likely Trump could defend himself by noting that he was president, and had ultimate declassification authority.
Many could see the hypocrisy in this since Trump relentlessly made attacks during the 2016 presidential campaign on his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
Trump has previously denied the reports about his administration’s tenuous relationship with the National Archives and his lawyers stated that “they are continuing to search for additional presidential records that belong to the National Archives.”
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