Trump

The former president says the cache, including information about the "President of France", was declassified.

They have to follow a process [and it is] not clear that was followed here." Trump says that request was quickly fulfilled "They have to fill out forms. "They didn't need to 'seize' anything," he said. Legal experts have told US media it is unclear whether this argument would hold up in court. The removal of classified documents or materials is prohibited by law.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Some Republicans are leaving open the possibility that former ...

Same sleazy people involved,” Trump wrote, tying his latest exchange with law enforcement to longstanding and oft-repeated grievances. “There are laws against the improper handling of this material. The warrant also shows that some of the documents Trump had in his possession were marked top secret, though it doesn’t specify the subject matter. If that were actually at his residence, that would be a problem,” Stewart said. Some Republicans are leaving open the possibility that Trump acted inappropriately. There are laws against that. “I mean, if he had actual Special Access Programs — do you know how extraordinarily sensitive that is? But she added that “if the nature of these documents is what it appears to be, this is very serious,” seemingly referring to reports that the documents were linked to nuclear information. Republican leaders also expressed support for rank-and-file FBI agents and condemned Thursday’s attack on an FBI building in Ohio. That attack was perpetrated by a man who was at the Capitol during the riot by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, and was reportedly motivated to attack FBI employees because of the search warrant on the former president’s residence. “But we just don’t know that. Responding to reports that the documents contained information related to U.S. nuclear weapons, Turner still said his opinion on whether the search was justified “depends on what the nuclear information is.” Turner said earlier this week that the only grounds for a search of a former president’s home would be the existence of a serious national security threat, but he declined to go that far on Friday. “You can say ‘nuclear weapons.’ But there are things that are highly, highly classified, there are things that are not extremely classified but are nonetheless classified,” Turner said, adding that he’s skeptical “anything that just has the umbrella of nuclear weapons in it ... would rise to the level of an immediate national security threat.”

Documents seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home bore the US government's highest top-secret rating, underscoring the sensitive nature ...

Trump's home in Florida was searched by FBI agents on suspicions of violations of the US Espionage Act. The unsealed seven-page federal court filing stated ...

Trump himself appeared to deny the claim, posting that the "nuclear weapons issue is a hoax" and even suggesting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation might have been "planting information" at his home. Trump and his lawyers have actually had a copy of the search warrant and the receipt listing the property seized by FBI agents for days -- and they could have revealed the contents previously on their own. The 76-year-old Trump said he would not block the release of the warrant -- while complaining that he was the victim of "unprecedented political weaponisation of law enforcement" by "radical left Democrats."

11 sets of classified files in total were taken from the ex-president's Florida home – with the most sensitive labelled “Classified/TS/SCI” – or “top ...

“I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents,” he said. Months prior to this week’s search, FBI agents visited Mr Trump’s property to investigate boxes in a locked storage room, according to a person familiar with the visit. Agents raided Mr Trump’s property in Palm Beach on Monday, in a move authorised by Merrick Garland, the Attorney General. President Joe Biden was not given advance notice of the raid.

House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee expressed support for law enforcement. As for lawmakers saying otherwise? “Question them, not us.”

After a federal judge unsealed the warrant authorizing the search of Mar-a-Lago and an inventory of items removed from the property by federal agents, Republicans followed different strategies in responding. It just seems to me this was excessive and over the top.” Doing so will give you access to the work of over 1,700 journalists whose mission is to cover the world and make sure you have accurate and impartial information on the most important topics of the day. (Ms. Greene has begun wearing a “Defund the F.B.I.” hat.) We’d like to thank you for reading The Times and encourage you to support journalism like this by becoming a subscriber. By contrast, Mr. Turner said pointedly on Friday: “We support our men and women in uniform. “Everyone knows this is ridiculous. They had planned to further attack the Department of Justice. Everyone knows it.” But privately, some advisers around Mr. Trump, unsure about what the F.B.I. might have recovered, began quietly cautioning fellow Republicans to dial down their statements. “I’m not for anything that’s critical of law enforcement,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma. “On the other hand, this is a very unusual situation, and the D.O.J. and the F.B.I. ought to come up here and answer questions. Another House Republican, Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona, went so far in the immediate aftermath of the search as to write on Twitter, “We must destroy the F.B.I.” (Mr. Gosar avoided the F.B.I. search on Friday, devoting his Twitter account to other subjects.)

Allen H. Weisselberg, who was indicted last summer, and the Trump Organization are scheduled to stand trial in October.

Mr. Vance had decided not to run for re-election and his successor, Mr. Bragg, was sworn in on Jan. 1. But Mr. Weisselberg did not strike a deal, leading to his indictment. Soon afterward, the two senior prosecutors who had been leading the investigation, Carey Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, resigned. Mr. Weisselberg, prosecutors said when they charged him last July, failed to pay taxes on those perks. Mr. Weisselberg and the business, the Trump Organization, were charged last year by the Manhattan district attorney’s office with having engaged in a 15-year scheme in which executives were compensated with hidden benefits so that they could evade taxes. Doing so will give you access to the work of over 1,700 journalists whose mission is to cover the world and make sure you have accurate and impartial information on the most important topics of the day. I’d like to thank you for reading The Times and encourage you to support journalism like this by becoming a subscriber. The justices’ decision ended a lengthy legal battle that significantly delayed the investigation’s progress. “Such illegal conduct is regularly prosecuted and this office would have been remiss not to have done so here.” On Monday, the F.B.I. searched his Florida home in connection with an unrelated criminal investigation. In Mr. Pomerantz’s resignation letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, he said that Mr. Trump had been “guilty of numerous felony violations” and that it was “a grave failure of justice” not to hold him accountable. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating Mr. Trump and his company since 2018, and Mr. Weisselberg became a focus for investigators at the district attorney’s office in the spring of 2021, just a month after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final effort from Mr. Trump to block the office from obtaining his tax returns.

Capping an extraordinary week in Donald Trump's post-presidency, a New York judge ordered Friday that his company and its longtime finance chief stand trial ...

Although the criminal investigation is separate from James’ civil investigation, which could lead to a lawsuit and fines for Trump and his company, her office has been involved in both investigations. Prosecutors alleged that Weisselberg and the Trump Organization schemed to give off-the-books compensation to senior executives, including Weisselberg, for 15 years. Several other Trump executives have been granted immunity to testify before a grand jury in the case. Trump has not been charged in the criminal probe, but prosecutors have noted that he signed some of the checks at the center of the case. Merchan denied requests by Weisselberg’s lawyers and the Trump Organization to throw out the case, though he did drop one criminal tax fraud count against the company citing the statute of limitations. The criminal trial is just one of several legal concerns playing out in real time in Trump’s orbit.

Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization were indicted on fraud and tax evasion charges in July 2021.

The Trump Organization and Weisselberg were indicted as part of a broader investigation by the Manhattan DA’s office into the company and its financials, which has so far not resulted in any other charges. The ex-president refused to answer any questions during his testimony, instead pleading the Fifth Amendment. The Washington Post noted that none of the charges against the ex-CFO carry a mandatory prison sentence, however, meaning it’s possible he could face no prison time at all.

The decision caps off a stunning week for former President Donald Trump. Allen Weisselberg arrives at court in New York.

The FBI is also probing Trump for a violation of the Espionage Act. The Manhattan DA’s office is, however, conducting a separate criminal investigation into the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements. Weisselberg and the Trump Organization on Friday wanted New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to toss a 15-count indictment variously alleging fraud, tax evasion, grand larceny and falsification of business records.

The former president says the cache, including information about the "President of France", was declassified.

They have to follow a process [and it is] not clear that was followed here." Trump says that request was quickly fulfilled "They have to fill out forms. The removal of classified documents or materials is prohibited by law. They have to give certain authorisations. Legal experts have told US media it is unclear whether this argument would hold up in court.

The Trump Organization and longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg will be tried on tax fraud charges. A judge refused to dismiss the charges and ...

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump is under investigation for potential violations of the Espionage Act, according to a search warrant unsealed by a Florida ...

The unsealed search warrant and inventory were released on the heels of reporting in the Washington Post asserting that the FBI was looking for documents related to nuclear documents and that signals intelligence was included in the documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property. A group of House Republicans held a press conference on Friday condemning the FBI search of the former president’s Florida resort, alleging that it was a move to disrupt the GOP’s political momentum ahead of the U.S. midterms. On Thursday, Trump called for the documents to be released in a series of posts on social media. “The documents don’t become declassified because the president, in his head, thinks they should be or he makes some flippant aside to an aide,” said Laufman, the former Justice Department official. I know it will be very extraordinary to release that, and it could be done by the attorney general, and I would ask and request he do that just because of the extraordinary case here.” Garland said he personally signed off on the FBI operation, whereas other Biden administration officials said the White House was not informed of the raid in advance. Also retrieved was information pertaining to the “President of France.” Also retrieved was information pertaining to the “President of France.” In any event, information regarding U.S. nuclear weapons systems is an exception and cannot be unilaterally declassified by the president. The Espionage Act is wide ranging and includes the mishandling of classified government documents as well as its disclosure to foreign adversaries. The FBI investigation “does not carry any weight,” Trump attorney Christina Bobb told conservative media outlet Real America’s Voice following the search. Laufman said to his knowledge, no former president has ever been investigated under the act.

The classified documents recovered by federal agents at the former President's Mar-a-Lago estate add to the picture of his out-of-control behavior after he ...

The classified documents collected by the F.B.I. agents at Mar-a-Lago, as well as the work of the January 6th committee, show that Trump was increasingly reckless at the end of his Presidency. Former Trump Administration officials have testified that the President’s behavior changed after he lost the election to Joe Biden in November, 2020. But the steady compilation of facts by the January 6th committee, the Justice Department, and the F.B.I. is creating a post-November, 2020, record of negligence that exceeds Trump’s actions earlier in his tenure. One of his initial defenses on Friday was to falsely claim in social-media posts that President Barack Obama had taken tens of millions of government documents after leaving office: “What are they going to do with the 33 million pages of documents, many of which are classified, that President Obama took to Chicago?” A statement from the National Archives and Records Administration refuted Trump’s assertion. But Garland stood up for the rule of law and also respected the rule of law. The Mar-a-Lago search warrant showed that Trump has grown more rash, thoughtless, and heedless—and more unfit than ever for the Presidency. ♦ On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that some of the documents pertained to nuclear weapons, an account the former President dismissed as a “hoax.” But the events of the past week raise the possibility that officials have finally found misconduct by Trump for which he can be held legally accountable. During his four years in office, Trump was regularly shown to make false claims, exaggerate achievements, and smear enemies. On Friday, a federal magistrate judge in Florida ended at least some of the speculation about the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate by Justice Department officials and F.B.I. agents. Trump’s base, of course, will believe that the Justice Department and the F.B.I. are falsely accusing him. All three of the potential offenses cited in the warrant are felony crimes. Garland also defended the men and women of the Justice Department and the F.B.I. “I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” he said. Documents unsealed by the judge showed that, during the raid earlier this week, agents had discovered and removed four sets of top-secret documents and seven other sets of classified documents from Trump’s home.

The FBI recovered more than 20 boxes of items - some labelled top secret - during a search of Donald Trump's Florida mansion, court records show.

Among the boxes removed were 11 sets of classified documents, with some relating to defence information. - Any evidence of the knowing alteration, destruction, or concealment of any government and/or Presidential Records, or of any documents with classification markings. A binder of photos, a handwritten note and information about the "President of France" were also seized.

The Justice Department's warrant and two critical supporting memos shed considerable light on the investigation into former President Donald J. Trump's ...

Mr. Garland, facing withering pressure to explain the rationale for the first-ever search of a former president’s home, said he was now free to speak on the matter only because Mr. Trump had broken the news himself. For a man who seldom discloses process details outside of what is included in the department’s legal filings, this was a big deal. People close to the president say it was part of his pattern of collecting keepsakes. Included in the manifest were also files pertaining to the pardon of Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime associate of Mr. Trump’s, and material about President Emmanuel Macron of France. Several provisions in the law could apply to Mr. Trump’s case, particularly if he were found to be grossly negligent in storing sensitive materials, or to have known that the information could harm U.S. interests, according to Mary McCord, a former top official in the Justice Department’s national security division. Doing so will give you access to the work of over 1,700 journalists whose mission is to cover the world and make sure you have accurate and impartial information on the most important topics of the day. Agents collected four sets of top secret documents, three sets of secret documents and three sets of confidential documents. I’d like to thank you for reading The Times and encourage you to support journalism like this by becoming a subscriber. The importance of what they found remains to be seen. But it was the third possible violation that made news. But his decision to address the public on Thursday, to request the unsealing of the warrant, marked a break in his pattern. - Trump’s Reaction: In the wake of the search, Mr. Trump has accused the nation’s justice system of being exactly what he tried to turn it into:a political weapon for a president.