Trump to view classified documents case evidence at secure facility today, report says
Former president to conduct first known review of classified papers at centre of federal case against him
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump will review evidence shared by Jack Smith as part of the classified documents case the special counsel brought against the former president today at a special facility in Miami, according to a report.
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that Mr Trump and his attorneys will visit a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in Miami on Tuesday to conduct a review of the highly classified materials at the heart of the investigation into the former president.
This will reportedly include those seized by the FBI during the search of Mr Trump’s Palm Beach home, Mar-a-Lago, in August 2022.
Mr Trump is accused of mishandling national security papers and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them after he left office in 2021.
The former president’s visit to the SCIF comes as US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee overseeing the case, is set to hold a hearing on Wednesday in Fort Pierce, Florida, concerning a request from Mr Trump to extend the deadlines in the case.
Judge Cannon paused any litigation involving the classified materials while she weighed the request.
In September, she issued a protective order over the materials about which the case revolves — including highly sensitive government documents — allowing for the special counsel to begin providing classified discovery materials to Mr Trump and his defence team to review at a SCIF.
Court filings state that the materials include “classified documents that had been stored at Mar-a-Lago as well as other classified material generated or obtained in the Government's investigation, including documents related to witness interviews such as reports and transcripts”.
Mr Trump is charged with 37 felony counts related to the mishandling of presidential records, including highly sensitive national defence information, since his departure from the White House in January 2021.
On 1 August 2023, Mr Trump was indicted on four counts in the federal probe led by Mr Smith into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
He has so far insisted that he is “an innocent man” in angry statements and postings to Truth Social, alleging that he is the victim of “rabid wolves” and the “weaponisation” of the justice system by the “corrupt” Joe Biden administration, even as the indictment revealed photos of boxes of files stacked high in the glitzy ballrooms and bathrooms of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
Mr Trump’s trial date is set for 20 May 2024.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments