A judge published this Friday an inventory detailing the search in the residence of former President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago that was previously presented by the Department of Justice under seal in court.
The inventory released by US District Judge Aileen Cannon showed classified documents that were mixed with personal items and other materials in the boxes where they were stored. Also recovered were more than 11,000 unclassified government documents.
A box was found containing documents marked with confidential, secret and top secret classification identifications. They also found “99 magazines/newspapers/press articles”, the inventory specified.
Likewise, there was evidence other boxes with documents marked as classified, which were stored with press clippings, as well as clothing and gifts.
A breakdown of the type of marks on the classified material taken was provided by the court filing of Mar-a-Lago, including 18 “top secret” documents, 54 documents marked secret and 31 documents marked confidential .
Dozens of empty folders were found
There were also dozens of empty folders that carried “classified” banners, according to the inventory.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice indicated that 48 empty folders with a “classified” sign and 42 empty folders marked for return to the personnel secretary or a military assistant.
Some current and former intelligence officials view empty folders as an alarming sign that unknown classified information may go unnoticed by federal investigators, who may have difficulty reconstructing what information was contained in those folders and what happened to them.
Sources familiar with the White House procedures for handling classified information stated that these folders have a tracking number, although these are rare cases.
Another source familiar with this type of document warned that finding an empty folder it is not necessarily an indication that the information it previously contained was mishandled.
“The empty folders raise questions, but were they empty and without descriptive information?”, indicated the source. “Putting a cover in a folder and carrying it around with various documents inside is something that is often done. It is similar to finding covers, which are often found in classified environments and are in themselves a problem.”
Inventory referenced dozens of folders that were marked “Return to Staff Secretary /military assistant”. Generally, when the president needs to access materials for a briefing, a military aide or other White House personnel is responsible for safeguarding those materials.
This means that the president will the material, you will make any use you want and then return it to that assistant to handle it properly.