Possible classified material found in boxes recovered at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago: report

Possible classified material was among the documents recovered from former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in January, prompting the National Archives and Records Administration to alert the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a report by The New York Times.

An unidentified source told the Times that the possible classified material was discovered when 15 boxes of presidential records were recovered from the Florida resort last month. This discovery reportedly led the National Archives to contact the DOJ in order for its inspector general to look into the matter.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that multiple White House record boxes that had been taken to Mar-a-Lago had been recovered by the National Archives in January. Among these documents were communication, gifts and letters from world leaders.

Storing the documents at Mar-a-Lago is a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act, which has not been uncommon in other recent presidential administrations. However, a source told the Post at the time that transferring the documents to the Florida club was “out of the ordinary.”

It was also reported earlier this week that the Archives had asked the DOJ to look into Trump’s handling of White House records, though it remains unclear if the department will launch an investigation.

In January, it was reported that the National Archives had received documents from the Trump administration that had been ripped apart and taped back together. Trump is known to have frequently ripped up documents during his time in office. In 2018, Politico spoke with former Trump administration staffer Solomon Lartey, who said his first five months in the Trump White House were spent taping documents back together.

“You found pieces and taped them back together and then you gave it back to the supervisor,” Lartey told the outlet.

“I had a letter from Schumer — he tore it up,” said Lartey, referring to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) . “It was the craziest thing ever. He ripped papers into tiny pieces.”

The Hill has reached out to Trump’s office and the National Archives for comment on the latest reporting.