WASHINGTON: The US National Archives discovered more than 700 pages of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida home in addition to material seized this month by FBI agents, according to a newly disclosed May letter the records agency sent to the Republican former president’s attorney.

The large quantity of classified material in 15 boxes recovered in January by the National Archives and Re­­cords Administration, some marked as “top secret,” provides more insight into what led to the FBI’s court-autho­rised Aug 8 search of Tru­mp’s residence at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

The agency is responsible for preserving government records.

The May 10 letter was sent by Acting US Archivist Debra Steidel Wall to Trump attorney Evan Cor­c­oran. It was released late on Monday by John Solomon, a conservative journalist who Trump authorised in June to access his presidential records. The National Archives posted a copy on its website on Tuesday.

“Among the materials in the boxes are over 100 documents with classification markings, comprising more than 700 pages. Some in­­cl­u­­de the highest levels of classification, including Special Access Programme materials,” Wall’s letter said.

The Aug 8 search was part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents from the White House when he left office in January 2021 after his failed 2020 re-election bid and whether he tried to obstruct the government’s investigation into the remo­val of the records.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2022