An explosive document. This Friday, US justice released, as expected, a 32-page document that seeks to justify the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s house in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The aim was also to respond to the former president, who said the process was nothing more than an unwarranted “witch hunt.”
• Donald Trump may have violated the Espionage Act
The document shows that the US authorities suspect that Donald Trump violated the Espionage Act, a law on espionage that very severely regulates the possession of confidential documents. However, some were found in the billionaire’s house.
Donald Trump claims that the documents he had in his possession had been declassified when he left the White House. However, as specified by New York Times, may not be enough. In effect, the law does not stop at the classified or declassified status of a document, but rather punishes the “illegal retention of information related to national defense”, can be read in the court document.
If the Justice Department follows this idea, Donald Trump could be prosecuted, but the document does not explicitly provide information to this effect.
• A largely redacted document
As is often the case, these sensitive US documents are heavily redacted. This one is no exception, as many lines are covered in black to keep the information secret. American justice justifies this choice by the need to protect FBI agents.
“Officers who have been publicly identified in connection with this investigation have received threats of violence from the public,” authorities said.
In addition to this, the memo explains that the information in the document could also help identify witnesses who are cooperating with investigators.
• Donald Trump did not cooperate
We have to go back to February 2022 for the first discovery of classified documents on Donald Trump. The National Archives had just recovered 15 boxes that were stored in the former president’s residence. Donald Trump had been asked to return the missing documents from May 6, 2021. It took several reminders for the billionaire’s team to respond positively to his request by the end of December 2021.
In particular, this may partly explain one of the justifications for the search. The DOJ memo explains that investigators had “reasons to believe evidence of obstruction would be found.”
• An entourage that turns against Donald Trump?
Beyond the documents found at Mar-a-Lago, the FBI apparently relied on statements against Donald Trump to justify this search. The document thus claims a “significant number of civilian witnesses”, without giving their identity.
Source: BFM TV
