Chairman Schiff on Reports of Classified Documents at Mar-a-Lago
“Attorney General Garland disclosed yesterday the Department of Justice made a motion to unseal parts of the search warrant that authorized the FBI to retrieve material from the former president’s residence, reportedly including classified information.
“If reports are accurate and contained among these documents are some of the most highly classified information our government holds — information classified as Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information — then it would explain a great deal about why the Department and the FBI took the step of obtaining a warrant to recover the documents. It appears that the FBI sought to remove those documents to a safe location previously, but Trump did not fully cooperate. Every day that information of such a classification sits in an unsecure location is a risk to our national security. If any other individual had information of that nature in their possession, the FBI would work quickly to mitigate the risks of disclosure.
“The protection of classified information, and particularly the protection of sources and methods, is an issue of the highest priority for the Intelligence Committee, and as we learn more, we will responsibly discharge our oversight responsibilities. The question of whether the former president or any other party has criminal liability is a matter best left to the Department of Justice, and I have confidence they will pursue their investigation according to the law.”
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