Explained:  Takeaways From The Unsealed Mar-a-Lago Search Affidavit

While the document released is highly redacted, with many of its pages crossed out by black blocks, it includes new details about the sheer volume of sensitive and highly classified informa🍸tion that was stored at the former president's Florida beachfront home, underscoring the government's concerns about its safety.

Here are top take💮aways of what t💫he document revealed:

Trump Had 'A Lot' Of Classified Material Stored At His Club

While the affidavit doesn't provide new details about the 11 sets of classified records that were recovered during the FBI's August 8 search⛄ of Trump's winter home, it does help to explain why the Justice Department believed that retrieving the outstanding documents was necessary.

Federal 🍒investigators knew months before the search that Trump had been storing top secret government records at Mar-a-Lago, a private club accessible not only to Trump, his staff and his family, but paying members and their guests, along with a revolving door of attendees at various functions, including weddings, political fundraisers and charity galas.

The affidavit notes that Mar-a-Lago storage areas, Trump's office, his residential suite and other areas at the club where documents were suspected🅘 to still be kep💎t were not authorised locations for the storage of classified information.

Indeed, it notes that no space at Mar-a-Lago had beᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤💙⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚen authorised for the storage of classified information at least since the end of Trump's term in office.

Yet the affidavit reveals that, of the batch of 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved🙈 from Trump's home in January, 14 contained docu🦋ments with classification markings.

Inside, th𓆏ey found 184 documents bearing cl🗹assification markings, including 67 marked confidential, 92 secret and 25 top secret.

The Archives referred the matter to the Justice Department on February 9 after a preliminary rev🐭iew of the boxes found what they described as “a lot of classified records”.

The Records Included Top Intelligence Secrets

Agents who inspected the boxes found special m🌟arkings suggesting they included information from highly sensitive human sources or the collection of electronic “signals” authorised by a court under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The affidavit lists several markings, incluꦗding ORC💜ON, or “Originator Controlled”.

That means officials at the intelligence agency responsi🐲ble for the report did not want it distribut🦋ed to other agencies without their permission.

There may also be other types of records with classified names or codewords still re🀅dacted🀅.

“When things are at tꦅhat level of classification, it's because there's a real danger to the people who are collecting the information or the capability,” said Douglas London, a former senior🌳 CIA officer who wrote a book about the agency, “The Recruiter”.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not responded to calls🍷 from Congress for a damage assessmenღt.

Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who chair🐷s the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a statement in which he once again called for🌳 a briefing.

“It appears, based on the affidavit unsealed this morning, that among the improperly handled documents at Mar-a-Lago 𓃲were some of our mꦏost sensitive intelligence,” Warner said.

Classified Records Were Mixed With Other Papers

Some of those classified records were mixed with other do🃏cuments, the affidavit says, citing a letter from the Aꦚrchives.

Accord🅘ing to Archives' White House liaison division director, the boxes contained “newspapers, magazines, printed news articles, photos, miscellaneous print-outs, notes, presidential correspondence, personal and post-presidential records, and a lot of classified records”.

Several contained what appeared to be T𒐪rump's handw🐬ritten notes.

Of most significant conc🦩ern: “highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified”.

A president might be given raw intelligence reporting to supplement his briefings or to cover a breaking or critically important matter, said David Priess, a former CIA officer and Wh❀ite House briefer who wrote “The President's Book of Secrets”, a history of the President's Daily Brief.

But it would be “unusual, if not unprecedeℱnted, for a president to keep it and to intermingle it with other papers”, he said.

“Even though I was prepared for this because I knew the judgꦆe would not approve a search based on something minor, the breadth and depth ꧙of the careless handling of classified information is truly shocking,” Priess said.

Trump Had Repeated Opportunities To Return The Documents

The affidavit makes clear yet again that Trump had numerous oppo♈rtunities to return the documents to the government, but simply chose not to.

A lengthy process to retrieve the documents had been underway essentially since Trump left the White House. The document💝 states that on or about May 6, 2021, the Archives made a request for the missing records “and continued to make requests until approximately late December 2021”, when it was informed 12 boxes were found and ready for retrieval from the club.

The affidavit makes clear that the Department of Justice's criminal investigation concerns not just the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorised spaces and the potentially unlawful concealment or removal of government records, but says investigators had “probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would𓃲 be found in their search.

Trump's lawy𒁏er, in a letter that was included in the release, had argued to DOJ that presidents have “absolute” authority to declassify documents, claiming that his “constitutionally-based authority regarding the classification and declassification of documents is unfettered".

Trump h🎶as not provided evidence the documents at Mar-a-Lago were declassified before he left Washington.

Trump Says He Did Nothing Wrong'

Trump has long insisted, despite clear evidence to the cont🅘rary, that he fully cooperated with government officials and had every right to have the documents on site.

On his social media site, he responded to theꦗ unsealing by continuing to vilify law enforc💝ement.

He called it a “total public rela𒐪tions subterfuge by the FBI anꦍd DOJ” and said "WE GAVE THEM MUCH.”

In another post, he🦩 offered just two words: “WITCH HUNT!!!”

⛦In an interview on Lou Dobbs' “The Great America Show”꧋ on Thursday, he said he'd done nothing wrong.

💫“This is a political a𒅌ttack on our country and it's a disgrace,” he added. "It's a disgrace.”