Trump Team Told Feds Docs Were Just “News Clippings”

The Washington Post reports:

Months before National Archives officials retrieved hundreds of classified documents in 15 boxes from former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, they were told that none of the material was sensitive or classified and that Trump had only 12 boxes of “news clippings,” according to people familiar with the conversations between Trump’s team and the Archives.

During a September 2021 phone call with top Archives lawyer Gary Stern, former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin offered reassuring news: Philbin said he had talked to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Trump’s team was aware of no other materials, Philbin said. The characterization made in the call vastly misrepresented the scale and variety of documents, including classified records, eventually recovered by the Archives or the FBI.

Read the full article.

BREAKING WAPO:

Months before National Archives officials found hundreds of classified docs at Trump’s home, Archives officials were given reassurances that none of the material was sensitive or classified and that Trump only had boxes of “news clippings.” https://t.co/2p5gBkSrXY

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 16, 2022