The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed a photograph of allegedly secret documents recovered during the raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, arguing the former president’s legal team misled the federal government.
In a new 36-page filing late Tuesday, the DOJ addressed the investigation into Trump and the former president’s compliance thus far.
The federal government accused Trump of repeatedly failing to return classified White House documents, despite being subpoenaed and promising a “diligent search” to recover any documents.
“The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,” DOJ counterintelligence chief Jay Bratt wrote in the filing.
Bratt continued:
That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the “diligent search” that the former President’s counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter.
The DOJ filing included the first photos of the documents seized in the Mar-a-Lago raid earlier this month, which showed several redacted documents and others that were marked “TOP SECRET//SCI.”
The Justice Department claimed that the documents seized in the FBI raid were so sensitive that “even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents.”
United States intelligence analysis will review the classified documents to determine any potential national security risk, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines revealed on Friday.
The DOJ filing argued that any White House records seized in the Mar-a-Lago raid “belong to the United States, not to the former President.”
Tuesday’s DOJ filing opposes Trump’s recent request for an independent review of the seized documents, which Federal Judge Aileen M. Cannon will hear on Thursday.
“We are now demanding that the Department of ‘Justice’ be instructed to immediately STOP the review of documents illegally seized from my home,” Trump said when his legal team filed the motion for judicial oversight. “ALL documents have been previously declassified.”
Trump’s attorneys are expected to respond to the government’s opposition motion by Wednesday evening.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, announced her “preliminary intent to appoint a special master” last week but warned that her order “should not be construed as a final determination on Plaintiff’s Motion.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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