WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) – The FBI discovered more than 11,000 government documents and photographs during its Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, as well as 48 empty folders classified as “classified,” according to with court records. unsealed on Friday. The unsealing by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach came a day after she heard oral arguments from Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department’s two top counterintelligence prosecutors on whether she should appoint a special master to conduct a privileged hearing. review of seized materials on Trump. Application. Cannon immediately deferred a decision on whether to appoint a special master, but said she would agree to unseal two files filed by the Justice Department. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Former US Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, questioned the usefulness of such an appointment. “I think at this stage, given that (FBI) have already reviewed the documents, I think it’s a waste of time” to have a special teacher, Barr said in an interview with Fox News. Barr, who left the post at the end of December 2020, defied Trump not to back up his false claims that he had been robbed of that year’s presidential election. In the interview, Barr added that he saw no “legitimate reason” for Trump to have documents at his Florida estate if they were classified. He added: “I’m frankly skeptical of this (Trump) claim that I ‘declassified everything.’ Because, frankly, I think it’s very unlikely and secondly, if he kind of stood over a bunch of boxes without really knowing what was in there and said “I hereby declassify everything in here,” that would be such abuse, it would show such recklessness that it’s almost worse than getting the papers.’ One of the files, released Friday, provides a little more detail about the 33 boxes and other items the FBI found inside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of its ongoing criminal investigation into whether he illegally withheld information. of national defense and tried to block the probe. It shows that classified documents were sometimes combined with other items such as books, magazines and newspaper clippings. An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said FBI agents searched it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo read more Unidentified gifts and items of clothing were also found. Of the more than 11,000 government records and photos, 18 were classified as “top secret,” 54 were classified as “secret,” and 31 were classified as “confidential,” according to a Reuters count of the government’s inventory. “Top Secret” is the highest level of classification, reserved for the country’s most closely held secrets. There were also 90 empty files, 48 of which were marked “classified,” while others said they were to be returned to the staff secretary/military assistant. It is not clear why the folders were empty or if some records could be missing. The other file unsealed is a three-page file from the Department of Justice updating the court on the status of its investigative team’s review of the seized documents. That filing, dated Aug. 30, said investigators had completed a preliminary examination of the seized materials and would investigate further and interview more witnesses. The Justice Department’s criminal investigation could potentially be put on hold if Cannon agrees to appoint a special master to come in and conduct an independent, third-party review of the seized records. But Cannon signaled at Thursday’s hearing that she may be willing to allow U.S. intelligence officials to continue reviewing the materials as part of a national security damage assessment, even if a special master is appointed. The Justice Department previously said in court filings that it has evidence the classified documents were intentionally withheld by the FBI when it tried to retrieve them from Trump’s home in June. The Justice Department also opposes the appointment of a special master, saying the records in question do not belong to Trump and he cannot claim they are covered by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that can be used to shield certain presidential communications. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jason Lange. Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Richard Cowan and Lisa Shumaker Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
