Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a letter that her office is conducting a damage assessment of documents taken by former President Donald Trump. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI |
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Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told lawmakers that the intelligence community would conduct a damage assessment stemming from former President Donald Trump's possession of top-secret documents.
Haines told House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, D-Calif., that her office will be assessing the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the documents, according to Politico.
"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."
According to Politico, the intelligence community's review will likely look at whether unauthorized individuals had access to the highly sensitive documents. The Justice Department is investigating potential violations of the Presidential Records Act, the Espionage Act, and obstruction of justice, according to court documents.
The letter came on the same day that the DOJ released a redacted search warrant affidavit that illustrates why FBI agents searched former President Donald Trump's home in Florida earlier this month.
The document cites probable cause to believe classified documents were at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla. -- as well as probable cause to believe that "evidence of obstruction will be found at the premises."
Further, the affidavit said there was probable cause to believe that "evidence, contraband, fruits of crime or other items illegally possessed" would be found at Trump's home.
The affidavit said the FBI investigation began with a referral from the National Archives in February. The FBI sought to determine how the documents were removed from the White House, identify anyone who may have moved them without legal authorization, and determine whether Mar-a-Lago was an authorized storage location for the documents
