OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
In an order issued Friday, a federal judge ordered the Justice Department to unseal an affidavit explaining why a raid in August seized classified documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago house. Much of the document is blacked out.
In its statement, the DOJ said it redacted large portions of the documents to protect the privacy of civilian witnesses and government officials, including FBI agents.
‘In short, the government has well-founded concerns that steps may be taken to frustrate or otherwise interfere with this investigation if facts in the affidavit were prematurely disclosed,’ the letter states.
It has been requested by both sides that the affidavit presented to the Florida judge who approved the search be released.
While Trump hoped it would show how he hadn’t been proven guilty of breaking laws governing presidential records and classified documents, his critics thought it would show how he had been implicated in breaking these laws.
Here are parts of the affidavit that are not redacted:
1. The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records. The investigation began as a result of a referral from the United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) sent to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on February 9, 2022, hereinafter, “NARA Referral.”
The NARA Referral stated that on January 18, 2022, in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), NARA received from the office of former President DONALD J. TRUMP, hereinafter “FPOTUS,” via representatives, fifteen (15) boxes of records, hereinafter, the “FIFTEEN BOXES.”
The FIFTEEN BOXES, which had been transported from the FPOTUS property at 1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480, hereinafter, the “PREMISES,” a residence and club known as “Mar-a-Lago,” further described in Attachment A, were reported by NARA to contain, among other things, highly classified documents intermingled with other records.
2. After an initial review of the NARA Referral, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a criminal investigation to, among other things, determine how the documents with classification markings and records were removed from the White House ( or any other authorized location(s) for the storage of classified materials) and came to be stored at the PREMISES: determine whether the storage location(s) at the PREMISES were authorized locations for the storage of classified information; determine whether any additional classified documents or records may have been stored in an unauthorized location at the PREMISES or another unknown location and whether they remain at any such location; and identify any person(s) who may have removed or retained classified information without authorization and/or in an unauthorized space.
3. The FBI’s investigation has established that documents bearing classification markings, which appear to contain National Defense Information (NDI), were among the materials contained in the FIFTEEN BOXES and were stored at the PREMISES in an unauthorized location.
REDACTED
Further, there is probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified NDI or that are Presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at the PREMISES. There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at the PREMISES.
I am a Special Agent with the FBI assigned to the Washington Field Office REDACTED During this time, I have received training at the FBI Academy located at Quantico, Virginia, specific to counterintelligence and espionage investigations. REDACTED
Based on my experience and training, I am familiar with efforts used to unlawfully collect, retain, and disseminate sensitive government information, including classified NDI.
5. I make this affidavit in support of an application under Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for a warrant to search the premises known as 1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480, the “PREMISES,” as further described in Attachment A, for the things described in Attachment B.
6. Based upon the following facts, there is probable cause to believe that the locations to be searched at the PREMISES contain evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violationof18 U.S.C. §§ 793(e), 1519,or2071.
SOURCE OF EVIDENCE
7. The facts set forth in this affidavit are based on my personal knowledge, knowledge obtained during my participation in this investigation, and information obtained from other FBI and U.S. Government personnel.
Because this affidavit is submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause in support of the application for a search warrant, it does not set forth each and every fact that I, or others, have learned during the course of this investigation.
PROBABLE CAUSE
NARA Referral
24. On February 9, 2022, the Special Agent in Charge of NARA’s Office of the Inspector General sent the NARA Referral via email to DOJ.
The NARA Referral stated that according to NARA’s White House Liaison Division Director, a preliminary review of the FIFTEEN BOXES indicated that they contained “newspapers, magazines, printed news articles, photos, miscellaneous print-outs, notes, presidential correspondence, personal and postpresidential records, and a lot of classified records.’
Of most significant concern was that highly classified records were unfolded, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly [sic] identified.”
25. On February 18, 2022, the Archivist of the United States, chief administrator for NARA stated in a letter to Congress’s Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney, “NARA had ongoing communications with the representatives of former President Trump throughout 2021, which resulted in the transfer of 15 boxes to NARA in January 2022 …. NARA has identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes.”
The letter also stated that, “[b]ecause NARA identified classified information in the boxes, NARA staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice.”
The letter was made publicly available at the following uniform resource locator (URL): https://www.archives.gov/files/foia/ferriero-response-to-02.09.2022-maloneyletter.02.18.2022.pdf. On February 18, 2022, the same day, the Save America Political Action Committee (PAC) posted the following statement on behalf of FPOTUS: “The National Archives did not ‘find’ anything, they were given, upon request, Presidential Records in an ordinary and the routine process to ensure the preservation of my legacy and in accordance with the Presidential Records Act …. ”
An image of this statement is below.
The affidavit continues after many redactions:
From May 16-18, 2022, FBI agents conducted a preliminary review of the FIFTEEN BOXES provided to NARA and identified documents with classification markings in fourteen of the FIFTEEN BOXES.
A preliminary triage of the documents with classification markings revealed the following approximate numbers: 184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET.
Further, the FBI agents observed markings reflecting the following compartments/dissemination controls: HCS, FISA, ORCON, NOFORN, and SI. Based on my training and experience, I know that documents classified at these levels typically contain NDI.
Several of the documents also contained what appears to be FPOTUS’s handwritten notes.
REDACTED
On or about May 6, 2021, NARA made a request for the missing PRA records and continued to make requests until approximately late December 2021 when NARA was informed twelve boxes were found and ready for retrieval at the PREMISES.
REDACTED
The FIFTEEN BOXES Provided to N4.RA Contain Classified Information
47. From May 16-18, 2022, FBI agents conducted a preliminary review of the FIFTEEN BOXES provided to NARA and identified documents with classification markings in fourteen of the FIFTEEN BOXES.
A preliminary triage of the documents with classification markings revealed the following approximate numbers: 184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET.
Further, the FBI agents observed markings reflecting the following compa11ments/dissemination controls: HCS, FISA, ORCON, NOFORN, and SI.
Based on my training and experience, I know that documents classified at these levels typically contain NDI. Several of the documents also contained what appears to be FPOTUS’s handwritten notes.
REDACTED
In the second such letter, which is attached as Exhibit I, FPOTUS COUNSEL 1 asked DOJ to consider a few “principles,” which include POTUS COUNSEL l’s claim that a President has absolute authority to declassify documents.
In this letter, FPOTUS COUNSEL 1 requested, among other things, that “DOJ provide this letter to any judicial officer who is asked to rule on any motion pertaining to this investigation, or on any application made in connection with any investigative request concerning this investigation.”
53. I am aware of an article published in Breitbart on May 5, 2022, available at https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/05/05/documents-mar-a-lago-marked-classified-were-already-declassified-kash-patel-says/, which states that Kash Patel, who is desc1ibed as a former top FPOTUS administration official, characterized as ”misleading” reports in other news organizations that NARA had found classified materials among records that FPOTUS provided to NARA from Mar-a-Lago.
Patel alleged that such reports were misleading because FPOTUS had declassified the materials at issue.
Based upon this investigation, I believe that the STORAGE ROOM, FPOTUS’s residential suite, Pine Hall, the “45 Office,” and other spaces within the PREMISES are not currently authorized locations for the storage of classified information or NDI.
Similarly, based upon this investigation, I do not believe that any spaces within the PRE1,1ISES have been authorized for the storage of classified information at least since the end of FPOTUS ‘s Presidential Administration on January 20, 2021.
78. As described above, evidence of the SUBJECT OFFENSES has been stored in multiple locations at the PREMISES.
REDACTED
Accordingly, this affidavit seeks authorization to search the “45 Office” and all storage rooms and any other rooms or locations where boxes or records may be stored within the PREMISES, as further described in Attachment A.
The PREMISES is currently closed to club members for the summer; however, as specified in Attachment A, if at the time of the search, there are areas of the PREMISES being occupied, rented, or used by third parties, and not otherwise used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff, the search would not include such areas.
CONCLUSION
79. Based on the foregoing facts and circumstances, I submit that probable cause exists to believe that evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation 18 U.S.C. §§ 793(e), 2071, or 1519 will be found at the PREMISES.
Further, I submit that this affidavit supports the probable cause for a warrant to search the PREMISES described in the Attachment A and seize the items described in Attachment B.
REQUEST FOR SEALING
80. It is respectfully requested that this Court issue an order sealing, until further order of the Court, all papers submitted in support of this application, including the application and search warrant.
I believe that sealing this document is necessary because the items and information to be seized are relevant to an ongoing investigation and the FBI has not yet identified all potential criminal confederates nor located all evidence related to its investigation.
Premature disclosure of the contents of this affidavit and related documents may have a significant and negative impact on the continuing investigation and may severely jeopardize its effectiveness by allowing criminal parties an opportunity to flee, destroy evidence (stored electronically and otherwise), change patterns of behavior, and notify criminal confederates.
The entire affidavit is here.
Source: The Republic Brief