-
Trump floated the idea of trading Mar-a-Lago crates for documents on the Russia probe, according to The NYT.
-
Trump’s aides did not submit his proposal to the National Archives, knowing it would be rejected.
-
According to the newspaper, Trump repeatedly delayed the agency’s requests for the boxes to be handed over.
– Advertisement –
Former President Donald Trump floated the idea of swapping the files he took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago in exchange for “sensitive” documents about the FBI investigation into the ties, according to The New late last year of his 2016 election campaign to Russia York Times.
When the National Archives urged Trump to return the dozens of official documents kept at his estate in Mar-a-Lago in South Florida that were not in their possession, the former president – who is still plagued by the Russia probe was – frustrated by the government at the agency’s refusal to disclose documents he believed would support his claims, according to The Times.
– Advertisement –
Trump told advisers he would give the boxes of materials stored at Mar-a-Lago to the archives for access to those documents, the newspaper said.
Aides to the former president did not go through with the proposal, but it was one of many ways the former president has repeatedly delayed calls from the archives to hand over the documents held at his personal residence.
Shortly after Trump entered the White House, there were clear concerns about the then-president’s tendency to bring documents into his bedroom, and near the middle of his tenure, finding the files in the living quarters of the historic building became a stumbling block for individuals aware of the situation who spoke to the Times.
During Trump’s third year in office, senior White House officials were aware that certain files were in places where they shouldn’t be kept.
After Trump left the Oval Office, Trump’s representatives were told by National Archives General Counsel Gary M. Stern that the former president should return the files in the boxes.
Stern had a series of discussions about the files with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, along with three attorneys employed by the White House office.
Per The Times star continued to push for missing boxes in September 2021, but Trump told Meadows they only contained newspaper clippings and other personal items.
Meadows relayed Trump’s message to former White House Counsel Patrick Philbin, who then relayed the message to Stern.
However, the archives indicated that even newspaper clippings and printouts of articles were considered presidential records that had to be turned over to the agency.
Late last year, former White House aide Eric Herschmann told Trump he could face significant legal trouble if he didn’t turn over the documents requested by the archives, according to the Times.
After telling advisers the boxes were “mine,” the former president agreed to review the files in December 2021, according to the newspaper. Stern was then told the boxes were ready for pickup.
According to The Times, no one among Trump’s officials has informed Stern that there are classified files in the boxes.
When the archives began opening the boxes, they found they were viewing the files in a room unsuitable for such high-level documents and expeditiously transported the boxes to safer zones, where the paper said the files would be closely examined could .
The FBI later in August executed a search warrant in Mar-a-Lago looking for classified documents it suspected Trump had brought to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office. The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump violated three federal laws related to handling classified information, including the Espionage Act.
Trump has long been fixated on the Justice Department’s investigation into campaign ties to Russia ahead of his first presidential election; He has repeatedly called the probe a “hoax” intended to harm his presidency.
Read the original article on Business Insider
from
https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-told-advisers-last-year-he-would-return-mar-a-lago-files-in-exchange-for-sensitive-documents-about-the-fbi-investigation-into-his-2016-campaigns-ties-to-russia-nytnew/
No comments:
Post a Comment