A FBI photograph of documents recovered from Donald Trump’s Florida estate
(Picture: via REUTERS)Empty classified folders have been found by FBI agents who searched Donald Trump’s Florida home last month, along with top secret records stored in an office and storage room.
The empty folders had a ‘classified’ banner on them, and more than 10,000 government records without any classification markings at all were found, according to a more detailed inventory of what what seized, made public on Friday.
The inventory disclosed by the Justice Department reveals the contents of 33 boxes and containers taken from an office and a storage room at Mar-a-Lago during the August 8 search.
It shows that 43 empty folders with classified banners were taken from a box or container at the office, along with an additional 28 empty folders labeled as “Return to Staff Secretary” or military aide.
Empty folders of that nature were also found in a storage closet. It is not clear from the inventory list why any of the folders were empty or what might have happened to any of the documents inside.
Though the inventory does not describe the content of the documents, it shows the extent to which classified information — including material at the top-secret level — was stashed in boxes at the home.
The Justice Department has said there was no secure space at Mar-a-Lago for sensitive government secrets, and has opened a criminal investigation focused on their retention there and on what it says were efforts in the last several months to obstruct that probe.
The inventory was released as the Justice Department undertakes a criminal investigation.
Intelligence agencies are assessing any potential damage caused by the apparent mishandling of the classified information and a judge will decide whether to appoint a special outside legal expert to review the records.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department said it had reviewed the records seized during the search and had segregated those with classified markings to ensure that they were being stored according to proper protocol and procedure.
“The seized materials will continue to be used to further the government’s investigation, and the investigative team will continue to use and evaluate the seized materials as it takes further investigative steps, such as through additional witness interviews and grand jury practice,” the department said.
It added that “additional evidence pertaining to the seized items,” including the manner in which they were stored, “will inform the government’s investigation.”
