Do Trump's Co-Mingled Documents Have a Bigger Significance?
Detailed lists of recovered Mar-a-Lago materials, that include Trump's personal legal bills, medical records, and requests for pardons, appear to have been posted to the court docket and then removed.
The more than 10,000 government documents and photographs without classification markings, which were retrieved by FBI agents at Mar-a-Lago, and included hundreds of photos and news articles, gifts, clothing, and books, also included an assortment of government, business, and personal documents. These records were apparently reviewed and sorted for privilege by an independent legal team led by the Special Master, and put into two exhibit lists that inventoried and recorded the items.
The two lists labeled Exhibit A and Exhibit B, included notes, letters, and emails and were initially posted with the unsealed Aug. 30 report from the Justice Department. A judge ordered that the exhibits stay under seal, but the items appear to have been inadvertently posted to the public court docket for a short time, and then later removed.
The first set of documents, included in Exhibit A has 137 pages in total. It consists of printed White House emails, documents pertaining to ongoing Trump lawsuits, and “pardon packages” for more than five people who are identified by initials. Some entries include the full names of people who ended up receiving Trump pardons, including former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Among the apparent government records described by the filter team was an email between the White House and the National Security Council regarding the 2019 release of John Walker Lindh, an American convicted of supporting the Taliban. The log includes items with the following headers: “Draft 2019 immigration initiative” and “Executive Action to Curb Illegal Immigration.” There was also a document filed under “internal analysis” and packages of materials related to requests for presidential pardons and sentence commutations at the state and federal levels.
One 39-page document, titled “The President’s Calls,” has the following description: “35 pages, each titled “The President's Calls” with the Presidential Seal in the upper left corner, containing handwritten names, numbers, and notes that primarily appear to be messages, Including (“…message from Rudy…”); four blank pages with handwritten notes.”
Also included is an unsigned June 2017 letter from one of Trump’s law firms to former special counsel Robert Mueller, contents of a folder marked “NARA letters” — an acronym for the National Archives and Records Administration — and emails to a White House account regarding post-election legal action.
The second list, Exhibit B, contains documents that the legal review team determined were not relevant to the ongoing search and could be returned to Trump. This list contains a medical letter from Dr.Harold N. Bornstein dated 9/13/2016 and various legal documents pertaining to ongoing Trump legal disputes. Included are items related to Trump’s suits with Mary Trump and writer, E. Jean Carroll.
The documents that were flagged as non-responsive to the inquiry, that are to be returned to Trump, had IRS forms and other tax-related documents, invoices for legal work and lawyer-retainer contracts, a settlement between a Trump golf entity and the PGA Tour, an agreement involving his post-presidency media group, communication about Trump’s resignation from the Screen Actors Guild, and a nondisclosure agreement and contract related to Trump’s Save America political action committee.
While many of these documents were not determined to be relevant to the ongoing investigation within the Department of Justice, these items and their relationship, or lack of relationship to each other, could be telling. Trump appeared to never have kept a single piece of paper on his desk in the Oval Office during his presidency.
Clearly, his personal, business, and government files were co-mingled. While this would not be a big deal for most people, who were in the process of quickly packing up a lot of documents for a move, it is a stunningly disorganized display for the former President of the United States. Were the presidential records co-mingled during Trump’s presidency, in possible violation of the law? Who was in charge of keeping his records organized, and who had access to these documents while Trump was in the White House?
Why did Trump collect and sort his important documents in such a way that it looks like a burglar was trying to take as many things as possible, not knowing what they might find valuable, and then stashed away without anyone truly understanding their importance? Is this just more proof that Trump never intended to vacate the White House and then was forced to do so quickly? Was no one overseeing this process?
While some of the items that have been listed on these exhibits are interesting because they were clearly in circulation with other documents that should have been afforded more protection, the way in which these documents were all co-mingled and then intentionally hoarded, is perhaps the most interesting aspect. Given the propensity for Trump to amass such a disheveled collection of documents, many of which he had no legal right to keep, a more extensive search of Trump and his properties might be warranted and legally justified.
The way in which the records were kept only leaves us with more pressing questions. Did Donald Trump always keep his records like this in the White House? Who was in charge of overseeing these records and comporting with basic standards and the law? This may be Trump’s personal standard for organization, but why did no one else within the White House remedy this poor record-keeping situation? Are all of the records in Trump’s possession rightfully his? Is there any basis to issue a warrant for all of his property, to sift through everything as the Department of Justice has done with just these few boxes? So many questions.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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These are all legitimate questions. I wouldn’t be surprised if records were squirreled away at Bedminster, too. Did he bury any with Ivana? Inquiring minds want to know.