New images show Trump’s ‘haphazard’ storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago: Prosecutors

Newly released images taken by the FBI during its search of former United States President Donald Trump’s resort in the US state of Florida, Mar-a-Lago, shows the haphazard way in which the Republican had allegedly stored the sensitive information.

'Haphazard manner'

The 33-page filing submitted by prosecutors, on Monday (Jun 24) working on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team which is investigating Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents dismissed the argument made by his lawyers who said that the case should be tossed as the order of documents in the boxes was slightly changed.

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The prosecutors also took this opportunity to release previously unseen photos taken by the FBI during its August 2022 search of Trump’s estate in Florida, Mar-a-Lago and note the “haphazard manner” in which the documents were stored.

In the images, documents containing sensitive information were seen stored alongside clothing, picture frames, cases of Diet Coke, red MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats and Christmas ornaments.

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According to the prosecutors, the boxes retrieved from the former president’s estate contained “all manner of items, including, for example, papers of varying sizes, from folded large-format items to tiny notes; clothing; picture frames; shoes; magazines; newspapers; newspaper clippings; correspondence; greeting cards; binders; and Christmas ornaments."

(Photo credit: Reuters/USDepartment of Justice)

In the filing, the prosecutors acknowledged that some documents were recorded slightly out of order but to dismiss the case based on this premise would be “absurd".

“The notion that the precise ordering of materials within these boxes possessed any exculpatory value that would be apparent to the Filter Team when they opened the boxes is absurd,” they wrote.

The filing came after the former president’s lawyers asked the presiding US district judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss the charges against Trump since the evidence was spoiled and it would affect the defence’s ability to make their argument.

Judge does not agree with search warrant argument

While Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents has been indefinitely delayed, Cannon is considering a series of motions filed by the former president’s legal team in hopes of getting the case dismissed.

In connection to one such bid, on Tuesday (Jun 25), the judge seemed sceptical about the claims that there was an issue with the warrant the FBI obtained to search the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

This comes after Trump’s lawyers argued at a recent court hearing that the 2022 search warrant was overly broad and violated the former president’s rights.

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They also alleged that the federal agents took medical records and improperly entered the rooms of Barron, his son, and Melania, Trump’s wife, during the search.

However, Cannon said she had “a hard time seeing” any problems with the warrant noting that the language in the order which a magistrate judge signed off onseems to have been sufficient.

A formal ruling on Trump’s bid to get the case and the evidence collected thrown out is still pending and Cannon did not indicate when she would issue a verdict.

(With inputs from agencies)