Political | Process

The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records,” an unidentified FBI agent wrote on the first page of the affidavit.

While the affidavit didn’t provide new details about the 11 sets of classified records recovered during the Aug. 8 search, it raised concerns about a separate batch of 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration had retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January.

A preliminary search of that material uncovered documents with classification markings in 14 of the boxes including “184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET,” the affidavit said.

In seeking a judge’s approval for a warrant, the FBI said it had “probable cause to believe evidence of obstruction would be found” at Mar-a-Lago, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit also pointed to the DOJ’s concerns that the classified documents Trump took with him when he left the White House had “not been handled in an appropriate manner or stored in an appropriate location.”

The FBI agent added that a storage room, residential suite and the “45 Office” within Mar-a-Lago were “not currently authorized locations for the storage of classified information.”

The eagerly awaited release of the affidavit came after U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the warrant that led to the Aug. 8 raid, ordered the unsealing of the affidavit by 12 p.m. Friday — despite the DOJ’s objections.

The Justice Department had argued against the release of the affidavit, saying that it included key details that were “highly likely to compromise future investigative steps” into whether the 45th president illegally kept classified information at Mar-a-Lago.

In total, 11 of the pages in the affidavit were completely redacted when it was made public, while substantial portions of 23 other pages were blacked out.

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