Top Democrats request damage assessment, review of documents taken at Mar-a-Lago

Two top Democrats wrote to the director of National Intelligence on Saturday to request a damage assessment and review be conducted after the unsealed search warrant on Friday revealed classified and top secret documents had been taken by FBI officials during their search at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines asking for a damage assessment to be conducted in addition to a classified briefing “on the conduct of the damage assessment.”

Earlier this week, Trump announced that the FBI had executed a search warrant at his Florida residence and The Washington Post reported that officials were looking for documents, including nuclear weapons information that would have been classified.

The search warrant was unsealed Friday, indicating that officials believed Trump may have violated several laws, including the Espionage Act. It is not clear if documents pertaining to nuclear weapons were among the items seized by officials. 

An unsealed search warrant showed that 33 items had been taken by the FBI, including “various classified/TS/SCI documents,” referring to secret/sensitive compartmentalized information

“Former President Trump’s conduct has potentially put our national security at grave risk. This issue demands a full review, in addition to the ongoing law enforcement inquiry,” Schiff and Maloney wrote.

Republicans have urged the Justice Department to be more transparent about the search, with some going further and calling it political persecution against Trump. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday introduced articles of impeachment against Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

The Hill has reached out to the office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment.