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The Washington Post reported Tuesday that one of the classified documents seized by the FBI at former US President Donald Trump’s Florida residence described a foreign power’s nuclear capabilities and military defences.
According to the newspaper, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, some of the documents discovered in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence were so highly classified that only the president and cabinet or near-cabinet level officials would be authorised to grant access to other government officials.
The country whose defence and nuclear capabilities were cited in the document was not named.
Such records require particular certifications on a need-to-know basis rather than a general top-secret clearance, according to the Post.
There were no specifics regarding the location or level of security used to protect the highly sensitive material in the home, which also acts as a private members club.
Trump is under increasing legal pressure as the Justice Department claims that top secret documents were “likely suppressed” to thwart an FBI investigation into Trump’s alleged improper handling of classified information.
The material discovered by agents during their August 8 search of the Mar-a-Lago resort was so sensitive that “even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents,” according to a government court filing.
After months of back and forth with the National Archives and Records Administration, Trump finally turned over “highly classified” documents to the government in January. The FBI raid followed that review.
It was discovered that 184 documents with the designations “confidential,” “secret,” or “top secret” were contained in the 15 boxes that Trump delivered.
Trump’s attorney eventually provided the FBI with another 38 secret documents after being prodded to do so by the bureau, and provided “sworn certification” that these were the final records to be disclosed.
The FBI later discovered, however, that there were still sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to “several sources of evidence.”
