A folder containing classified information about Russian election interference disappeared from the White House at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Source: CNN citing people familiar with the matter
Details: The disappearance of the documents has raised concerns among intelligence officials that closely guarded secrets concerning the national security of the United States and its allies could be exposed.
Intelligence officials briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leaders last year about the missing material and government efforts to recover it.
More than two years after Trump left office, the documents have not been found.
The folder contained raw intelligence collected by the United States and its NATO allies regarding Russians and Russian agents, including sources and methods. The evidence involved Russian President Vladimir Putin trying to help Trump win the 2016 election, sources tell CNN.
The folder was last seen at the White House during Trump’s final days in office. The former president ordered her there to declassify scores of documents related to the FBI’s Russia investigation. Under the tutelage of then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, the files were reviewed by Republican aides who worked to redact the most sensitive information so it could be declassified and made public.
The day before leaving office, Trump ordered the declassification of most of the folder’s contents, sparking a flurry of activity in the final 48 hours of his presidency. Several copies of the redacted folder were created at the White House with plans to distribute them throughout Washington to congressional Republicans and right-wing journalists.
But the copies that were initially sent out were quickly withdrawn at the direction of White House lawyers, who demanded additional redactions.
Minutes before Joe Biden’s inauguration, Meadows rushed to the Justice Department to hand over a redacted copy for a final review. Years later, the Justice Department has still not released all the documents, despite Trump’s declassification order. Additional copies, with varying levels of editing, have found their way into the National Archives.
But an unredacted version of the binder containing classified raw intelligence data disappeared during the chaotic final hours of the Trump White House.
The folder was not among the secret items found during the last search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Cassidy Hutchinson, one of Meadows’ top aides, testified before Congress and wrote in her memoir that she believed Meadows took home an unedited version of the folder. She said the folder was kept in Meadows’ safe and that she saw him leave the White House with it.
Meadows’ lawyer, however, strongly denies that Meadows mishandled any classified information at the White House.
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2023-12-15 23:35:43