Overnight Defense

Defense & National Security — DOJ releases redacted affidavit in Trump search

by Jordan Williams 08/26/22 06:37 PM CDT

Former President Trump gives a keynote address during the America First Policy Institute Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday released the much-anticipated affidavit that convinced a federal judge to approve a warrant to search former President Trump’s Florida home.

We’ll take a deep dive into the warrant. Plus, we’ll talk about the 1-year anniversary of the bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 13 U.S. service members.

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Jordan Williams. Subscribe here.

Affidavit: 184 classified docs found at Trump’s resort

A redacted FBI affidavit used to convince a judge for a search warrant for former President Trump’s Florida home noted that authorities found 184 classified documents in their initial review of boxes recovered from the home in an effort that began just a few months after he left office.

Authorities’ concern that Trump may have additional national security information at his private residence was spurred by a review of the 15 boxes recovered by the National Archives in January.

Inside the affidavit: The affidavit indicates that among the 184 documents were 25 that contained top secret information, including those gained from “clandestine human sources,” information prohibited from being shared with foreign governments, and information obtained by monitoring “foreign communications signals.”

The 28-page affidavit contains numerous redactions but indicates authorities believed “evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed” would be found at Mar-a-Lago.

Entirely redacted is a provision explaining why the government believed additional “classified [national defense information]” would be found on the premises.

What else is new? The affidavit offers new information about the extent of the saga to recover documents from Mar-a-Lago. The document says the National Archives first reached out about retrieving records as early as May 6, 2021 — just a few months after Trump left office.

Yet it wasn’t until late that year that the Trump team alerted Archives that they had 12 boxes ready for pick up. The agency would instead leave with 15.

Trump’s response: In a statement from Trump shortly after the affidavit’s release, the former president called the document “a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ” that was not reflective of “our close working relationship regarding document turnover – WE GAVE THEM MUCH.”

A few disclaimers: Trump has not been charged in connection with the search, and the affidavit does not name him as having potentially violated various statutes, instead saying evidence of violations may be found at the premises.

Trump had called for the release of both the warrant and the affidavit. He filed a separate case, however, seeking an injunction to stall the FBI’s investigation and asking a court to appoint a special master for the case. Doing so would let an outside party approved by the court first review the evidence taken during the search before the FBI can review it.

Check out other coverage of the affidavit:

Biden marks 1 year since deadly Afghan bombing

President Biden on Friday marked the anniversary of the “heinous” terrorist attack amid the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that killed 13 American service members and dozens of civilians.

Biden issued a statement in which he recognized each of the 13 American service members by name. They died in a suicide bombing outside the airport in Kabul last year in the thick of chaotic attempts to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan.

What Biden said: “Today, I am praying for the families of those 13 fallen warriors, who lost a piece of their soul one year ago. Our nation can never repay such incredible sacrifice—but we will never fail to honor our sacred obligation to the families and survivors they left behind,” Biden said Friday.

“I am also holding in my heart all those who lost their child, partner, parent, sibling, loved one, or battle buddy over our two decades of war in Afghanistan. 2,461 American troops made the ultimate sacrifice. 20,744 were wounded, so many whose lives are forever marked by their injuries. It is a painful reminder that there is nothing low-cost or low-grade about war for those we ask to fight for us.”

Who died? The attack, which was attributed to a branch of the terrorist group ISIS, killed Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover; Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario; Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee; Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez; Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page; Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui; Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak; and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss.

A low point: The terrorist attack at Abbey Gate in Kabul a year ago is widely regarded as the low point of Biden’s first term by officials within the administration. It also served as a flashpoint for critics of his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan after roughly 20 years.

Biden has insisted he does not regret the handling of the U.S. withdrawal, even as accounts have shown the administration appeared unprepared for the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and a chaotic effort to get civilians out of the country culminated with the terrorist bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops and more than 100 Afghans in the area.

The president has argued that remaining in Afghanistan would have cost more American lives and forced the U.S. to commit more forces to fight off the Taliban.

Read the full story here.

Biden faces calls to let Vindman twin retire as colonel

President Biden is facing calls to allow Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, who alongside his twin brother Alexander blew the whistle on former President Trump’s July 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to retire with the title of colonel.

Vindman was promoted to colonel in March of last year by Biden after his career was sidetracked by a bad review — something the Defense Department’s inspector general later determined was likely a reprisal for his involvement in expressing concerns over Trump’s actions on the phone call.

But to officially retire as a colonel, one must hold the rank for three years.

The backstory: Two days after Trump was acquitted of impeachment charges over his dealings with Ukraine in the Senate, both Vindman brothers were escorted out of the White House. Their promotions to colonel were delayed.

While Alexander Vindman retired, Eugene Vindman received a career-damaging negative performance review from a superior who, one year earlier, had praised him as one of the best military lawyers and officers he had ever worked with.

Eugene Vindman is set to retire this coming Wednesday.

The argument: Lawyers Defending American Democracy, which wrote the letter to Biden, said the move would have significance beyond a formal title.

“In granting this waiver, you will reinforce a critical message: those who stand up with courage for the constitution and the rule of law will be rewarded, and retaliation will not be tolerated,” they write.

Vindmans are ‘military heroes’: “There are military heroes. There are legal heroes. Then there are those like Colonel Vindman who are both. He deserves to retire with the rank that he has so well earned,” Norm Eisen, an attorney who served as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment.