READ IT: Judge releases less redacted Mar-a-Lago search affidavit

TRUMP MAY STILL HAVE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN RECOVERED: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

The newly unredacted portions of the affidavit reveal Trump’s counsel did not inform the DOJ that the former president declassified the documents.

“When producing the documents, neither [Trump] COUNSEL 1 nor INDIVIDUAL 2 asserted that [Trump] had declassified the documents. The documents being in a Redweld envelope wrapped in tape appears to be consistent with an effort to handle the documents as if they were still classified,” a new portion of the affidavit explained.

“Individual 2” refers to Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, who signed a document back in June attesting that all classified material was turned over to the government, the new affidavit said. Evan Corcoran, another Trump lawyer, is referred to as “counsel” in the affidavit.

“In addition to [Trump] COUNSEL 1, another individual, hereinafter ‘INDIVIDUAL 2,’ was also present as the custodian of records for FPOTUS’s post-presidential office,” the affidavit said. “INDIVIDUAL 2 provided a Certification Letter, signed by INDIVIDUAL 2, which stated the following…Any and all responsive documents accompany this certification; and d. No copy, written notation, or reproduction of any kind was retained as to any responsive document.”

The newly unredacted portions of the affidavit also revealed that the DOJ subpoena for surveillance camera footage from the Trump Organization demanded footage that dated back to Jan. 10, about a week before National Archives and Records Administration officials seized 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago in January.

The DOJ had sought the footage to gauge who may have had access to the documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago. Representatives from the Trump Organization turned over a hard drive with the footage to FBI agents, the newly unredacted portions added. Trump had security cameras “in the vicinity of the STORAGE ROOM” where the 15 boxes were stored. The 15 boxes contained “184 unique documents with classification markings,” per the new disclosures in the affidavit.

Trump and others have implored the court to release the full affidavit to the general public. Initially, the DOJ resisted releasing the affidavit, citing national security concerns, but Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the Mar-a-Lago search, demanded an initial draft be released last month.

FBI officials retrieved roughly 26 boxes of material that comprised over 100 documents with classified markings during the August raid, with information ranging from “CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET information,” according to the affidavit. Trump has denied wrongdoing, claiming he declassified the material confiscated.

Here is a look at the newly released version of the affidavit.

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The DOJ is investigating whether violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice occurred as part of their inquiry into the classified documents, according to an unsealed warrant for the August raid.

Trump and the DOJ are currently clashing over a court order approving the appointment of a special master, a third party to filter out privileged documents from the trove of items seized from Trump’s Palm Beach resort. A judge granted Trump’s petition for a special master last week, but the DOJ has vowed to appeal the ruling, claiming it could hamper its inquiry.

Still, on Monday, the DOJ approved one of Trump’s special master picks. The agency has conceded that its in-house “Privilege Review Team” has identified a “limited set” of materials that may have privileged information such as attorney-client documentation among the stash of material confiscated in the August raid.

The affidavit with the original slate of redactions is below: