“The documents show that the FBI’s investigation was an evidence-gathering step in a national security investigation into presidential records at Trump’s Florida home,” Maloney of New York and Schiff of California wrote. “The facts now in the public domain make it clear that an assessment of damages is appropriate.” The FBI on Monday executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, with agents removing 11 sets of classified documents, some marked “top secret/SCI” — one of the highest levels of classification. Court documents unsealed and released Friday identify three federal crimes the Justice Department is looking into as part of its investigation: violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal manipulation of government records. The inclusion of the crimes indicated that the department had probable cause to investigate these offenses as it gathered evidence during the investigation. No one has been charged with a crime. The letter outlined the House Speakers’ specific requests, including “directing the Director of National Counterintelligence, in consultation with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community and other Inspectors General, as appropriate, to conduct a damage assessment.” The letter continues: “Furthermore, we ask that you commit to providing an appropriate classified briefing on the conduct of the damage assessment as soon as possible. Even as the Department of Justice’s investigation continues, ensuring that we are taking all necessary steps to protect classified information and mitigating the harm to national security caused by its compromise is critically important.” CNN reported earlier Saturday that one of Trump’s lawyers signed a letter in June certifying that there was no more classified information stored at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The letter signed by the lawyer raises new questions about the number of people who may have legal exposure in the ongoing investigation into the handling of classified material from the Trump era in the White House. Before the FBI search warrant used at Mar-a-Lago was revealed Friday, Schiff praised Attorney General Merrick Garland’s request to unseal it, and Trump’s legal team eventually agreed to his release. Schiff also said the House Intelligence Committee will decide whether to investigate the FBI’s investigation into Mar-a-Lago. “I hope (the unsealing) gives the public a sense of why the Justice Department made the decision it did. I have a lot of confidence that Garland considered all the factors in making the decision,” he said. This story has been updated with additional background. CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Rachel Janfaza, Morgan Rimmer, Alex Rogers, Daniella Diaz and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
