Federal intelligence agencies announced plans to review documents seized during the August 8 raid of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.
“The Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search,” an ODNI spokesperson said in a statement. “ODNI will also lead an Intelligence Community (IC) assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents.”
The Epoch Times further reported:
The ODNI oversees 17 intelligence entities, including the CIA and the FBI. The current director of national intelligence is Avril Haines, a Biden appointee.
FBI agents seized classified materials from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Aug. 8, according to an inventory list agents gave to Trump lawyers. Agents also found classified materials in boxes of documents that were transferred from Mar-a-Lago to the U.S. government in January, according to an affidavit authored by an FBI agent that was made public on Friday.
Trump has said he declassified the materials.
U.S. authorities are investigating Trump for possible violation of federal law, including a law governing the transmittal of national defense information.
The ODNI will “closely coordinate” with the Department of Justice (DOJ), which includes the FBI, to make sure the intelligence community assessment “is conducted in a manner that does not unduly interfere with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation,” the ODNI spokesperson said.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A number of lawmakers had requested a damage assessment, including Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
An ODNI policy says a damage assessment “shall be conducted when there is an actual or suspected unauthorized disclosure or compromise of classified national intelligence that may cause damage to U.S. national security.”
An assessment “may also be conducted when there is an actual or suspected loss, misuse, or unauthorized access to or modification of classified national intelligence that could adversely affect national security,” the policy also says.
Haines informed Schiff and House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) in a letter Friday about the damage assessment, the ODNI spokesperson confirmed.
Maloney and Schiff did not respond to requests for comment.
Those plans may have to be put on hold after a federal judge announced Saturday she expects to appoint a special master to review Trump’s documents. If a retired judge is appointed by the court, the special master would look at documents before the government does and withhold any that fall under the attorney-client or executive privileges.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
