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National Archives finds ‘classified national security documents’ in Mar-a-largo records recovery 

by mcardinal

Lauren Moye, FISM News

 

Documents marked “classified national security information” were located in the 15 boxes handed to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Largo estate. In response, NARA has contacted the House of Representatives Oversight Committee and the Department of Justice for investigation in what Trump has called “their next scam.”

The boxes were transported to NARA in mid-January, sparking concerns that the Presidential Records Act had been violated. “The Presidential Records Act mandates that all Presidential records must be properly preserved by each Administration so that a complete set of Presidential records is transferred to the National Archives at the end of the Administration,” U.S. archivist David S. Ferriero explained in a Feb. 7th statement. “NARA pursues the return of records whenever we learn that records have been improperly removed or have not been appropriately transferred to official accounts.”

The news of the newly located records prompted Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, to announce a further investigation into the content of these boxes. Maloney has been actively looking into potential violations of the Records Act by Trump since December of 2020.

“NARA has identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes,” Ferreiro responded on Friday. Ferreiro also wrote that the documents were still being processed and that the Department of Justice had been notified due to the sensitive material uncovered.

In addition to the 15 boxes, Ferreiro noted that NARA was aware of social media messages that had not been properly preserved in the national records. NARA had also received torn-up documents from Trump’s White House staff.

Despite the sensationalist tone that Maloney struck in her tweet, the recovery of the documents was far from dramatic. Earlier this month in response to news headlines, NARA released a statement that they “did not visit or “raid” the Mar-a-Largo property” because Trump representatives had cooperated in the location and return of the documents.

In Friday’s letter, Ferreiro wrote, “NARA has asked the representatives of former President Trump to continue to search for any additional Presidential records that have not been transferred to NARA, as required by the Presidential Records Act.”

Trump confirmed through a Feb. 18 statement on his spokeswoman Liz Harrington’s Twitter account that “Presidential Records in an ordinary and routine process” were given to NARA upon their request. The former president added, “If this was anyone but ‘Trump’ there would be no story here. Instead, the Democrats are in search of their next scam.”

Later, Trump wrote, “Instead of focusing on America, the media just wants to talk about their plan to ‘get’ Trump. The people won’t stand for it any longer!”

This is not the first time that the tension expressed by Maloney has mismatched with NARA statements.

In her December 2020 press release, where she expresses concerns that records were being disposed of without obtaining “views” or permission to destroy them, Maloney also admits that NARA had not sent personnel to aid in the record-keeping process. Typically, NARA staff assist and oversee the preservation of records but did not deploy staff at the end of Trump’s presidency because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Ferreiro also wrote in Friday’s letter, NARA located the 15 boxes because of “ongoing communications” with Trump representatives throughout 2021.

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