The FBI noted that after Trump finally returned about a dozen boxes of materials to the National Archives this year, an FBI triage found 184 unique classified documents, including 25 marked top secret, 92 marked secret, 67 marked confidential, and some with Trump’s distinctive handwriting. In making the case that the FBI needed to search Mar-a-Lago, the affidavit – produced by an FBI agent working in the bureau’s Washington field office – also showed how Trump had previously retained government secrets at Mar-a-Lago after he was no longer president. The affidavit also mentioned an additional significant reason for needing the document to initially be kept under seal: “The FBI has not yet identified all potential criminal confederates and not located all evidence related to its investigation.”Ī redacted version of the affidavit used to seek the search warrant on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was released on Friday. While the exact origin of that information appears to have been kept redacted, in an accompanying legal memo explaining its redactions, the justice department revealed for the first time that the FBI had interviewed a “significant number of civilian witnesses” before seeking the warrant.

The specific mentions of the most private areas at Mar-a-Lago – for instance Pine Hall, which is not particularly widely known – suggests the FBI had close operational knowledge from a source about where the documents were being kept and potentially being moved around the resort. Most pressing, according to the affidavit, was that the FBI had identified probable cause that documents containing national defense information were scattered across Mar-a-Lago, potentially jeopardizing intelligence gathering and revealing the identities of human clandestine sources. The affidavit made the case that the FBI needed to forcibly retrieve the United States government’s most sensitive secrets, especially after it came to suspect Trump and his team were holding on to classified documents despite repeated efforts – including with a subpoena – to secure their return. There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found,” it said. Metsos et al,, and related documents, 83 pp.“There is probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified NDI or that are presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at the premises. Item 88 Part 02 of 02 Redacted FBI electronic communications (ECs), surveillance logs, and related documents, 238 pp. Metsos et al,, redacted FBI electronic communications (ECs), surveillance logs, and related documents, 97 pp. Item 88 Part 01 of 02 Sealed complaint, US v.

Christopher Metsos et al,, and related documents. Chapman and Semenko,, and related documents. Item 83 Photos of the package that Christopher Metsos left at a dead-drop site. Item 78 Photos of meeting of Richard Murphy and Michael Zottolli at Columbus Circle, New York, NY, 6/19-20/2004. Item 62-70 Heavily redacted documents, 54 pp. Item 50-60 Various photos from surveillances, including Christopher Metsos and Richard Murphy, Queens, NY, 119 pp. Item 28-39 Documents re: Michael Zottoli and surveillances at Colombus Circle, New York, NY, and near Fort Green Park, Brooklyn, NY, 82 pp. Item 15-17 Photos of Christopher Metsos, ca. Item 1-14 Photos and documents related to Foley or Heathfield. Referrals Part 01 of 01 Documents from the Department of Justice, National Security Division-declarations and criminal complaints start at p.101.

Redacted files