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© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.FBI: Trump mixed top secret documents with magazines, other items
By ERIC TUCKER WASHINGTON©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
92 Comments
PTownsend
"haphazard", apt word to describe Trump's management style, "months of entreaties from US officials", Trump has shown all his life how little regard he has fro the US and for US systems. But Trump idolators, as fanatic as any any group of religious extremists anywhere will deny the idol they worship and obey ever did anything wrong, they'll cry 'fake' news', 'witch hunt', parroting their grifting golfer hero, as they continue to further split and weaken the country, aided by Putin and Xi Jinping, many of Trump's most rabid followers side with Russia because Russia is providing them cheap bullets for their guns.
ghosthand
Daame daame! you are in troboru!!
Numan
That is not gave them everything like the law requires or like they lied about previously. Current and especially former presidents have no right or need to take from the White House and keep top secret documents! He probably was stalling with last set of boxes, so he can make photocopies of the rest. He need something to bargain with to avoid going to prison or to get Putin to help again with another election. He wants trump Towers Moscow so bad it hurts!
Check the secret tunnels around Mar a Lago which are used to transport people, materials, and information in-and-out of the place for nefarious reasons! Rudy will squeal in a plea deal because trump did not give him that blank pardon that he wanted so badly.
rcch
“ … contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence … “
Lmao, that’s so Trump ..
..
“ … this showed Trump's lack of respect for controls. “One of the rules of classified is you don’t mix classified and unclassified so there’s no mistakes or accidents," … “
..
you don’t say(!)
plasticmonkey
On the whole, I believe in the competence and integrity of the DOJ, the FBI, and the justice system. I have no such faith in Donald Trump and his enablers, but I’m happy to allow him due process under law, just like any other ordinary American.
This will not be sorted in the court of public opinion. It is clear that Trump’s supported will not be swayed by ANY evidence against the man.
Let justice prevail.
Mark
Unfit tor the high office of the land, in fact for any office.
Mark
This is what NARCISSIST do, they think Me Me Me, then Me. What ever happened to Lock Her Up laws he signed and pushed against Mrs. Clinton, Karma is a good thing sometimes.
The Avenger
What is the big deal to search an ex president? Its unusual yes, but this guy behaved unlike all presidents. Once he leaves office he is like any ordinary citizen and not a god. Anyone else having secret documents would go right to jail.
What did he need classified documents for? Maybe to show Putin next time he's in town. Strangest person in the USA. If he was my leader , I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.
Boy have the Republicans gotten it wrong with him.
OssanAmerica
This is all Criminal not Political.
We are paying the consequences of having voted into office an individual that goes far beyond just being not fit for the office of POTUS. An individual who built a cult following, that includes those prepared to carry out an armed insurrectipon based upon the lies that he repeats. Trump and his followers are a threat to the security of the United States. Charge him, indict him, convict him and MAGA.
PTownsend
Trump would have a better chance of not being linked with scandals if he would stop acting like the class clown wanting attention. Crime gang dons like Trump should know better than involve themselves in crimes that attract attention to them and their misdeeds. Which of Trump's dictator friends around the world might have lost the chance to get top secret US documents because of another Trump blunder? Maybe the feds should also search Jared/Ivanka's place, as well as little Don's and Eric's. Crime family after all.
stormcrow
Trump obviously had no idea what he was doing. The height of carelessness, stupidity and arrogance all rolled up into one.
Stewie
Those boxes were Trumps retirement fund. Gotta have something to sell to the Russians. I cant see any other reason to be holding all that top secret material, other than using them for future blackmail attempts.
Ah_so
But this time there is no doubting his guilt of a felony crime.
Peter Neil
“Equal justice under law.” — the engraving at the Supreme Court.
We’ll see if he gets the equal treatment as anyone else. I suspect Trump will get away with things that any other person would be jailed for.
Bob Fosse
He’s putting on his usual fake bravado but you know he’s cacking himself this time.
Speed
The Criminal.
Laguna
That does it! Trump should be put on double double secret probabtion.
Express sister
When he said, “I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose support”, Trump was implicitly calling his supporters a bunch of brainless sycophantic rubes. And they gleefully agreed with him.
wallace
Many times, Trump believed and acted like he was above the law.
yamada1043
Narcissus J. Trumpnocchio continues to lie and blames it on a “witch hunt” … his gullible followers believe him.
The former Insurrectionist-in-Chief has been a threat to democracy and a threat to national security ever since he declared his intention to seek the candidacy to the Office of President of the United States of America (POTUS).
Trump has caused enough damage to the USA and, in many ways, to the world at large,
lincolnman
Well, what's so surprising about that? I mean, when he's on the throne, he wants to a little variety - you know, read the National Inquirer, then the latest TS/SCI info on our new ICBM...
Hmmmm, I remember someone railing against Hillary for doing this - of course her's was only Confidential - the lowest classification. And he wanted her "Locked Up"....
Not only Top Secret and SCI - but also SAP/SAR - our most sensitive information - this is info about our "black" programs - ones we don't even acknowledge exist - and can only be discussed in a secure SAP area. And this guy had them in a box in a closet with his Readers Digest....
One thing is consistent though, whether its the search warrant, the inventory, or the Affidavit, every time Trump screams he wants more info released, it just proves how much more guilty he is...and makes his Repub defenders look even more ridiculous...
wallace
Trump posted on the Truth Social Network
"Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on “Nuclear,” a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover – WE GAVE THEM MUCH. Judge Bruce Reinhart should NEVER have allowed the Break-In of my home. He recused himself two months ago from one of my cases based on his animosity and hatred of your favorite President, me. What changed? Why hasn’t he recused himself on this case? Obama must be very proud of him right now!"
tooheysnew
which include Archie comics & Mad magazines
wallace
The GOP is being very quiet.
ok1517
tooheysnew,
don't forget "Hustler" and "Playboy" magazines (are they still available?).
Elsewise, just this: L.O.C.K. - H.I.M. - U.P.!!!
N. Knight
Traitor!
"Lock him up! Lock him up!"
lincolnman
Read this, then compare it to the fact that Judge Reinhart was APPOINTED BY TRUMP to his current position in March 2018...
This just shows Trump is beyond desperate...there's no denying he stole Top Secret, SCI, and SAP/SAR info, kept it hidden at Mar-A-Lago for two years, turned some back in in Jan 22 but but kept more, then in Jun had his lawyer state in writing that "there is no more classified at Mar-A-Lago", and then an insider tips off the FBI there is more - and they find it during the search in Aug - to include more Top Secret...
This is the most serious national security violation in our country's history - committed by no less than the Commander-in-Thief...
That so many Repub politicians immediately jumped to his defense just shows how craven and corrupt they are...
This will not end well for Trump and the Repub party...
Sven Asai
Yes, everything has a probability, but can they also prove that they haven’t mixed or even brought those documents by themselves during the raid? I guess Trump or other more independent watchers weren’t there in person, so the investigators had theoretically all possibilities to set up the place and ‘findings’.
Nemo
So he knew he had them because he the Archives had been talking, almost begging for over a year and a half, in the subpoena they had shot across the bow of the SS Chump telling him that to give them up or else in May BEFORE the subpoena.
It wasn’t just love letters and trinkets, it was highly HIGHLY confidential.
Trump’s attorneys swore there wasn’t anything left when Trump knew there was.
The material isn’t privileged. It doesn’t belong to him it belongs to the United States
No, Obama didn’t do it too.
The idea that Trump took stuff home to work on it makes me snort AND he wasn’t working on them anymore, was he?
There is no ability just “Bibity Bobity boo” de-classify intel like pardoning a Thanksgiving Turkey. His own intelligence officials called it bs. Any declassification had a documented process and he didn’t go through one. There is zero evidence.
And for that matter one of the crimes being investigated requires that the evidence be classified AT ALL.
There was evidence of “knowledge and consent” that means Trump had knowledge that he shouldn’t have this stuff and was keeping it anyway
The “raid” happened in broad daylight, unarmed, and plain clothed.
The search warrant was rock-solid.
Maybe, just maybe there was a reason that Trump’s less-stupid lawyers didn’t participate in the motion to release? Because it makes him look guilty as hell.
Remember first that No matter how much Don shoots off his mouth or blathers on “truth”, in court action is all that matters. And his rubes said nothing in court. They never challenged the warrant. And they observed, but didn’t file a brief on this. He says he’s filing a 4th Amendment law suit but he hasn’t because he can’t until he is indicted.
Second, this is ONE of (by my count) 4, FOUR criminal grand juries and one major civil trial.
There is nothing even remotely inappropriate at what the DOJ or the FBI has done or is doing.
Trump is almost certain to get indicted.
Every time Trump opens his pie-hole and doesn’t put a scoop of ice cream in it, he or his lawyers make his legal situation worse.
I think he is in deep legal jeopardy and I think he knows it.
Simon Foston
Sven AsaiToday 09:23 am JST
They don't have to prove anything. Accusations like that need to be backed up with evidence. Do you have any?
nishikat
Trump is so bad that he literally thinks he's still president and 95% of his followers literally believe him. Trump people think that Trump is 100% innocent but Hillary is 100% guilty from her 300,000 missing emails. What gives?
rainyday
If this is going to be the new Trump defence I have to say that it really sucks.
Yrral
The only people that fear Trump is White people,two Black prosecutor are on the heel of Trump,their was a third black prosecutor,but he wimped out,they not prosecuting Trump , because he is White, because of the administration of equal justice
Nemo
Oh, and the special master? The one filed late and in the wrong jurisdiction? It was so bad, the judge made them re-do their homework and GAVE THEM A TEMPLATE! THATS how bad the initial submission was.
George Conway says that Trump’s lawyers aren’t even the F team. He’s being nice. These rubes don’t even merit single character status.
Nemo
Ignorance and base stupidity. To be fair, some of them are victims of a cult.
wallace
Trump can not hire quality lawyers because none do pro bono. They want to be paid.
Simon Foston
NemoToday 09:29 am JST
He'll be fine if he can get a jury stacked with GOP politicians just like at his impeachment trials.
bass4funk
He has? Compared to how Washington has treated the majority of Americans, I think he was treating us well, at least he never expanded the federal government and believed in robbing “Paul to give to Peter.”
No, we just love how Trump gives the establishment the finger and the fact that he wanted to dismantle the swamp, allow more people to keep their money, 1st and 2nd amendment and to protect it, limit the power and size of big government, why would you not like him?
Wrong! They’re not in power and right now, the Democrats are not the ones in the House that are getting the gold seal of approval for handling the nation well.
Putin?? As for Xi, Biden said, he and Xi are close friends, how close? Maybe after November we will find out.
Sadly, that argument is not resonating anymore, that’s so 2017
nishikat
Trump can't even get a decent lawyer to work for him. Well maybe one who has experience writing up deeds in a trashy trailer park, but that's like having no lawyer at all. And it seems that lawyers having anything to do with Trump somehow find themselves in legal trouble themselves. Trump is also a terrible client since instead of listening to his lawyer he wants to continue playing Bozo the Clown. Even if he tries (and is legally allowed) to run for President again, is it possible? Who would willingly work under him? George Zimmerman and David Duke?
bass4funk
No one knows who the name of the person will be.
Can’t be worse than a judge magistrate that worked with Epstein.
George Conway, you couldn’t find a more biased and Trump hating obsessed person, so he’s now a person of relevance? How so? What political capacity other than, “I hate Trump”
Nemo
Simon,
I was thinking the same thing. Jury selection will be (sorry - “would be”) the ball game because the evidence is open and shut.
Get a jury of people willing to decide based on the evidence and the law, and the jury deliberations last between 15 min and an hour prior to a guilty verdict depending on the ready availability of coffee and how long the toilet break takes.
nishikat
Does that mean he doesn't even need a lawyer then? Is he that super human?
nishikat
That was the idea of Trump's trailer trash lawyer. I'm sure that will go down well
Nemo
We know which court they submitted to. The wrong one. And the request could very well just be rejected
Learn the law or at least the facts in evidence. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. The law and facts have never mattered to you before.
Jalapeno
If the docs reveal anything about Area 51, then the public deserves to know.
Bob Fosse
So if Biden ‘declassified’ everything right now, the highest security level information the US possesses, you’d love him just as much.
If 45’s defense is that a President is untouchable and has that power you really have nothing to complain about Biden or any other President.
N. Knight
Yes but it he didn't do any of that and it's clear he had no intention of doing it. It was all just a brainwashing exercise for the peasants.
bass4funk
I wouldn’t care.
No, the Dems for some political reason is pushing to make that claim
Yeah, we do because Trump didn’t weaponize the DOJ and the FBI to go after Hillary and justifiably, but never did.
Bob Fosse
We all know that isn’t true.
UChosePoorly
Bass - by some measures, some US posters maybe even including me, could be considered “the establishment”. Is Trump giving us the finger?
bass4funk
You do not work in Washington and you are not a a sitting congressman, so I doubt you’re part of the establishment, so you’re good.
wallace
Trump made his own swamp with various white nationalist groups and had them march on the Capitol Building to prevent the election of the new president.
UChosePoorly
Thanks Bass and correct, I am not a Congressman yet. I do like my Congress critters though, which is why I voted for them. Congress as a whole typically has pretty low approvals ratings, but people tend to like the ones they elect.
Yrral
Bass4,the judge appoint grand jury ,the grand jury has more power than a prosecutor,they can indict someone, without the consent of the prosecutor
Express sister
Good point. It could also be invisible ninja aliens, who can phase through matter and are planting all this evidence because Trump is on the cusp of fouling the aliens’ plan to steal the planet’s entire supply of Diet Coke.
You can’t prove this isn’t the case, so I think we might as well agree that this is the truth.
Mark
LOCK HIM UP, not Her.
bass4funk
If you say that, then you know less than I thought.
Surprise!
He did not, these Americans can like or support whomever they want. Antifa and BLM support some of the Dems and or their policies, it’s still a free country, not sure how much long though…..
.
Moderator
Readers, this thread will be closed for discussion for about two hours.
Nemo
George Conway is a member in good standing of the Federalist Society, a graduate of Yale, and has agued several cases on behalf of the United States.
Trump’s nobodies are an insurance attorney, the general counsel for a parking garage, an OAN “journalist” and in the case of the “Special Master” “submission”, not licensed to practice law in FL (possibly because they’re incompetent.)
So sentient beings will give more credence to what he says over a group of drueling rubes that make “Sydney and the Krakens” look ALMOST credible by comparison.
Simon Foston
NemoToday 12:55 pm JST
George Conway is also, I presume, someone who has met Donald Trump more than once and therefore has a better idea of what he's actually like in person than anyone commenting in this thread.
Nemo
Simon you are correct.
George was actually under serious consideration for the post of Solicitor General in the Trump administration but withdrew his name from consideration because in his words “the administration was a s#%t how” and of Trump, he came to the correct conclusion “this guy is crazy.”
wallace
President Joe Biden mocked former President Donald Trump’s claim that he declassified documents the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate earlier this month.
“I’ve declassified everything in the world, I’m president, I can do it all?” Biden told reporters, impersonating his predecessor as he departed the White House on Friday.
“C’mon, ‘declassified everything?’” he added, waving his hands for emphasis.
wallace
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday (August 26) that he sometimes takes home classified government documents but that they always remain fully secure.
"I have a person with me, the military with me. I read it. I lock it back up and give it to the military,"
Nemo
(Waves a “magic” wand given to him by the my-pillow guy)
“Bibity-Bobity-Boo! I hear-by…”
Yeah, that’s not how declassification works. So say the ACTUAL lawyers. So say his former staff.
(Fun fact: the classification level is legally speaking irrelevant. He had national defense documents he had no right to have EVEN AFTER MULTIPLE demands to return them.)
He did it. He’s guilty. He’s toast.
Blacklabel
The hysterics over a document of mostly black bars over the words is hilarious.
liberal media was trying to tell us what information is surely contained on pages that are 100% redacted.
Simon Foston
NemoToday 01:03 pm JST
Surprisingly high numbers of serious adults who worked with him directly appear to have come to the same or similar conclusions.
starpunk
That is a VERY serious violation of security. Every POTUS knows better than that, one of the hats they wear is Commander-in-Chief. This egotistical traitor fool keeps on getting doo-doo on his face every single day, hour by hour and minute by minute. Just when you think he can't get any lower, more and more crimes and disgraceful activities he does.
He claims to be the 'Chosen One', the Messiah.
Unfit to run a trash dumpster. Not fit for ANY social situation whatsoever. You DON'T invite boors like him to your party or even a picnic or grill out. Nothing.
That's Kid Rock's answer to everyone. Kid Rock loves Trump, he's a disciple of that turd. Birds a feather.
Mar-a-Lago has giant framed mag covers (real and imaginary) glorifying him. They're fr once. om many mags, and he DID appear on a Playboy cover. Don't forget, given his nature he may have had those stolen documents scattered with BDSM and sick kink rags as well. Maybe kiddie porn too.
I can't find one respectable or honorable aspect, trait or characteristic about this sorry excuse for a person. Nothing. Zero.
Simon Foston
bass4funkToday 10:30 am JST
He made the swamp, they all jumped in and felt right at home. How do you like it in there?
Blacklabel
So it’s come full circle. Documents that were originally marked as classified may or may not be classified now.
government has to prove they still are.
media keeps reporting “classified” documents as if it is fact. Due to a president using declassification authority, that is yet to be determined.
Nemo
And not for nothing, beyond the pure illegality of it, which is about as close to a slam dunk we are going to see in our lifetime, ….
Keeping this much highly classified information in a poorly secured club put American lives at risk.
Either directly by revealing sources, and intelligence that can be used to directly threaten the lives of US personnel.
Or by degrading US intelligence gathering capabilities, and as we know from 9-11, intelligence holes cost lives.
So there’s nothing even remotely patriotic about Trump’s illegal hoarding (or carrying water for it for that matter.)
I remember when carelessly or even intentionally putting American lives at risk was the definition of un-American behavior and was disqualifying for public service.
Express sister
It is pretty funny how right wingers were screaming for it to be released, and now that it has been and what can be gleaned looks bad for Trump, they’ve pivoted to “it doesn’t matter who cares about the affidavit?”
wallace
All declassified documents can only be processed by a sitting president. The documents will have a date stamp indicating on what date they were declassified. Not all documents can be declassified even by a president.
An ex-president is not allowed to remove classified documents.
Blacklabel
We wanted the entire unredacted document. Full transparency.
nothing looks bad for trump in this document. It wont even stop the speculation and leaks, which is the purpose of the redactions.
Blacklabel
How quickly it’s forgotten the last time when a Dem had documents with classified markings and was emailing them and having a housekeeper print them out at home.
the documents were determined to actually be unclassified somehow, despite the markings.,and there was no intent found to do anything wrong, so it was judged to be perfectly ok.
wallace
The FBI document is redacted to protect those involved. To protect sensitive information and protect the legal ongoing process.
Blacklabel
And to protect that it wasn’t really necessary to raid the home of a political rival.
Nemo
Trump never wanted the full, nor the redacted version out because for all his blathering, neither he, nor his idiot lawyers filed a motion where it counts legally - in court.
Why? Because it makes him look like what he is: guilty as hell.
No, Don wanted to be able to complain and fund raise off it, but he never (or at least his competent lawyers, if he has any never) wanted this document released.
One of the reasons that Affidavits are not usually released, in addition to protecting the case for the government, is that it’s release is almost always a bad look for a (likely) criminal defendant. The state withholds them in the interests of due process as well.
But, moron that he is, he goaded the judge into giving him as close to what he was screaming about as he was going to get. And now, we all know.
What an idiot.
Simon Foston
BlacklabelToday 01:26 pm JST
You're sure you want to know more about some of that stuff Trump was holding onto, and just how bad it might have been for him to hold onto it?
It appears that nothing could ever make Trump look bad to you.
Blacklabel
Indeed. So tell us what we “know” now?
Simon Foston
BlacklabelToday 01:32 pm JST
If he didn't hand all the documents over the first time they asked, what else were they supposed to to?
wallace
Copy of warrant and list of documents taken from Mar-a-Lago
FBI collected multiple sets of classified documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home
Many classified.
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1117151056/fbi-collected-multiple-sets-of-classified-documents-from-trumps-mar-a-lago-home
Blacklabel
Maybe the documents are not classified and belong to him? Same as the magazines and newspaper articles.
For me I know some documents used to be classified.
i know a president has the authority to declassify them.
I know that the president declassified documents related to crossfire hurricane.
So if these documents are related to that they are no longer classified.
wallace
Trump is not anyone's political rival since he is no longer in office and not currently running in an election. He's just an ex-president, not that he would believe that.
Simon Foston
BlacklabelToday 01:48 pm JST
Conjecture isn't very convincing.
wallace
Blacklabel
How do you explain the classified documents listed?
I posted a link
Then those would have a declassified stamp and date.