It was the first time the delicate national defense secret papers at the centre of the latest scandal were noticeable to supporters and opponents of…
The Department of Justice filed a formal complaint against Donald Trump, alleging that someone at his Mar-a-Lago club attempted to cover up or remove secret material before an FBI search earlier this month, potentially constituting contempt of court.
It was a damaging accusation levelled against the previous president, which was disclosed in a late Tuesday suit filed. However, the photo in the filing was even more powerful. “TOP SECRET/SCI” flashed across the cover sheets of at least five sets of papers strewn across the carpeting.
One more cover sheet in the foreground of the government photograph said: “SECRET/SCI” and “Includes sensitive classified information”—a designation for documents that include citations to sources and methods that intelligence agencies go a long way towards protecting.
Secret documents first time shown
It was the first time the national defense papers at the centre was visible to the supporters and opponents of the previous president.
They are all the kinds of documents that are commonly found in highly secure amenities known as SCIFs in the intelligence trade. And they are the kinds of documents the government claims Trump had no privilege or authority to keep after his presidency ended.
The picture, which was part of the Justice Department’s answer to Trump’s demand that the documents be evaluated by a special master, may dampen enthusiasm among certain main supporters to protect the former president’s actions even further.
Normally, staunch supporters have remained silent or attempted to divert attention after previously resisting the FBI search as an abuse of authority by the DOJ.
Trump has denied criminal activity but has provided no plausible reason for why he had the documents or why he did not return them sooner, as his lawyers stated. Several of Trump’s supporters have speculated, without providing evidence, that the FBI fabricated evidence at Trump’s club.
The documents were scattered out along with letters or memos with White House letterhead that seemed to have been censored by government investigators.
Additionally, a banker’s box containing a framed copy of the cover of Time magazine’s March 4, 2019 issue, which featured Trump in the Oval Office, including several potential Democratic competitors peering in from the glass.
One of those opponents, Joe Biden, presently holds Trump’s chair in the White House. The previous president is now on the outside looking in, with supporters curious if the recent scandal means he’ll never be allowed back in.
