FBI Found More than 11,000 Government Records at Trump’s Florida Home

By Staff, Agencies

The Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] recovered more than 11,000 government documents and photographs during its August 8 search at former US president Donald Trump's Florida estate, as well as 48 empty folders labeled as "classified," according to court records that were unsealed on Friday.

The unsealing by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach came one day after she heard oral arguments by Trump's attorneys and the Justice Department's top two counterintelligence prosecutors over whether she should appoint a special master to conduct a privilege review of the seized materials at Trump's request.

Cannon deferred ruling immediately on whether to appoint a special master but said she would agree to unseal two records filed by the Justice Department.

Former US Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, questioned the usefulness of such an appointment.

"I think at this stage, since they've [FBI] already gone through the documents I think it's a waste of time" to have a special master, Barr said in an interview on Fox News.

Barr, who left the post in late December 2020, defied Trump by not backing his false claims that the presidential election that year had been stolen from him.

In the interview, Barr added that he saw no "legitimate reason" for Trump having documents at his Florida estate if they were classified.

There were also 90 empty folders, 48 of which were marked "classified," while others indicated that they should be returned to staff secretary/military aide.

It is not clear why the folders were empty, or whether any records could be missing.

The other record that was unsealed is a three-page filing by the Justice Department updating the court about the status of its investigative team's review of the documents seized.

That filing, dated Aug. 30, said investigators had completed a preliminary review of the materials seized and will investigate further and interview more witnesses.

The Justice Department's criminal investigation could be potentially put on pause if Cannon agrees to appoint a special master to come in and conduct an independent third-party review of the seized records.