The U.S. Intelligence community will Evaluate the potential National Security risks stemming from Trump’s Possession of Top-Secret Documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines told Top Lawmakers.
In a Letter dated Friday, Haines told House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY, 12th District) and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA, 28th District) that her Office will Lead an “assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents.”
“The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search,” Haines wrote, adding that the Review will be conducted in a way that “does not unduly interfere with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation.”
The correspondence represents the Biden Administration’s first known engagement with Congress on the issue of the ongoing Investigation ensnaring Trump. Court Documents unsealed in recent days have revealed that the DOJ is Investigating potential Violations of the Presidential Records Act, the Espionage Act, and Obstruction of Justice.
It’s also the First known acknowledgment by the Intelligence community of the potential Harm caused by the Missing Documents, which Prosecutors said Friday included Human-Source Intelligence and Information gathered from Foreign Intercepts. Top Lawmakers have been clamoring for Details about the substance of the Documents since the Aug. 8th search of Mar-a-Lago, but so far neither the Intelligence Committees nor Congressional Leaders part of the so-called Gang of Eight have been briefed.
Haines’ response came on the same day that a Federal Judge unsealed a Redacted Version of the Affidavit that laid out the DOJ’s justification for obtaining a Search Warrant for Mar-a-Lago. The Affidavit revealed that Prosecutors believed Trump was holding a range of Top-Secret Documents at his Private residence, including some of Trump's Handwritten Notes, and his Signature on some of the Top-Secret Documents.
“We are pleased that in response to our inquiry, Director Haines has confirmed that the Intelligence Community and Department of Justice are assessing the damage caused by the improper storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” Schiff and Maloney said in a joint Statement. “The DOJ affidavit, partially unsealed yesterday, affirms our grave concern that among the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago were those that could endanger human sources. It is critical that the IC move swiftly to assess and, if necessary, to mitigate the damage done — a process that should proceed in parallel with DOJ’s criminal investigation.”
The Intelligence Community’s Review is likely to encompass whether any Unauthorized Individuals had Access to the highly Sensitive Documents. The DOJ previously raised Alarms about the lax Security of the Records within Trump’s Estate. That question could also bear on the Criminal Probe, as DOJ Counterintelligence Investigators determine whether the highly Classified records were Compromised in any way.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has also asked the Intelligence Community to conduct a Damage Assessment related to Trump’s handling of the Documents, that was Bipartisan. The Panel’s Chair, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), and Vice Chair, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), both signed onto the Request. In addition to informing Maloney and Schiff of the intent to conduct a Damage Assessment, Haines sent a similar Response to Warner and Rubio on Friday.
The Senaters also asked the DOJ to give the Committee access to the Specific Documents that were taken from Mar-a-Lago. A wider group of Congressional Leaders asked to see the Documents, too. In a Statement earlier Saturday, Rubio noted that the DOJ hasn’t yet responded to the Committee’s Letter, but made No reference to Haines’ response. “The Senate Intelligence Committee is still waiting for information from the Department of Justice about the specific intelligence documents seized from Mar-a-Lago and what necessitated an unprecedented search warrant on President Trump’s residence,” Rubio said.
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