Status: 08/28/2022 06:41 a.m
US secret services are apparently supposed to evaluate the confidential government documents that were secured from former President Trump. Was national security at risk?
The secret documents that former US President Donald Trump took with him after the end of his term in office are to be evaluated by the US secret services. This was reported by the “New York Times”, the magazine “Politico” and other media, citing a letter from the secret service coordinator Avril Haines to high-ranking employees.
This should clarify whether there were any national security risks arising from the storage in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida.
Who had access to classified documents?
“The Justice Department and the Office of the US Intelligence Coordinator are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those found in the search,” Haines wrote, according to Politico magazine.
The secret services could therefore also check whether unauthorized persons had access to the documents. This could be of criminal relevance. Haines is an intelligence coordinator in the government of Trump’s successor, Joe Biden.
US District Judge Considers Appointing Special Counsel
Trump’s lawyers Trump recently called for a neutral examiner of the FBI investigations. A judge in the US state of Florida has now announced that she may use a special representative. “The Court hereby announces its preliminary intention to appoint a special counsel in this matter,” Justice Aileen Cannon said. Judge Cannon said a hearing would be held on Thursday. Cannon was appointed a judge by Trump during his 2020 presidency.
Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to secretly disclose what other items were confiscated in the FBI raid in early August. Trump had previously requested that confiscated items that did not fall within the scope of the investigation be returned.
Secret documents returned to the National Archives
Last Friday, the US Department of Justice partially made public the basis on which the ex-president’s living quarters were searched on August 8th. This revealed that Trump had previously returned numerous confidential, classified, and top-secret documents to the National Archives. Since Trump kept the documents in his private estate until then, he could have broken the law.
US media: secret services should evaluate Trump documents
Antje Passenheim, ARD New York, August 28, 2022 6:11 a.m