ONE of Donald Trump’s long-time assistants told federal investigators that he repeatedly wrote to-do lists for her on documents from the White House marked classified, ABC News reported.

The aide, Molly Michael, told investigators that more than once she got requests or tasks from Trump written on the back of note cards that she later recognised as sensitive White House materials, the news outlet reported on Monday, citing sources.

The notecards had visible classification markings used to brief Trump while he was still in office about phone calls with foreign leaders or other international matters, the news outlet said.

A Trump spokesperson dismissed the report as “illegal leaks” and denied wrongdoing, according to Reuters.

Former president denies claim, maintains he did nothing wrong

The spokesperson said the information given to ABC News lacks “proper context and relevant information” and that “President Trump did nothing wrong, has always insisted on truth and transparency, and acted in a proper manner, according to the law.”

Michael became Trump’s executive assistant in the White House in 2018 and continued to work for him when he left office. She resigned last year in the wake of Trump’s alleged refusal to comply with federal requests, ABC News said.

Trump has been charged, along with two aides, with illegally storing troves of classified documents at his personal residence and lying to federal investigators who sought to retrieve them.

The notecards with classification markings mentioned by Michael were at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate when FBI agents searched the property on August 8, 2022, but the materials were not taken by the FBI, ABC News said while quoting sources familiar with what Michael told investigators.

According to ABC, the sources said Michael also told federal investigators she grew increasingly concerned last year with how Trump handled recurring requests from the National Archives for the return of all government documents being kept in boxes at Mar-a-Lago.

In June, Trump was charged in an indictment in June with criminal counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements to investigators.

He has pleaded not guilty.Trump is also under separate indictments in Washington, DC, and Georgia over his alleged efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden and in New York over a hush-money payment he paid to a porn star. He denies wrongdoing.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2023