Those officials say law enforcement and security officials must now try to trace the chain of custody of the material and try to determine if any of the material was compromised. Officials acknowledged that these critical questions must be addressed because the material, in theory, would be of great value to foreign adversaries and even allies. Interviews with Trump administration officials are expected, and authorities may even check for fingerprints to see if that provides information about who had access. Former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is seen in Palm Beach, Florida on February 8, 2021. Marco Bello/Reuters, File The FBI warrant and inventory claim that 11 sets of sensitive information were recovered during the Mar-a-Lago search — including confidential, secret and top secret documents. There was even top secret, sensitive intelligence (SCI) material. This classification of materials sometimes includes nuclear secrets and terrorist operations based on a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) review of security protocols reviewed by ABC News. Top secret SCI documents are classified as national information and include information “relating to or originating from intelligence sources,” according to a document (DNI) reviewed for this report. This material may come from allies, espionage, wiretapping or informants. Top Secret SCI should only be handled under the strictest of conditions in secure locations. Such locations are supposed to be impervious to wiretapping and no electronic devices are allowed. Only a select few are allowed to view SCI — for example, a “need to know the cleared recipient properly.” Why the concern? U.S. officials know that such sensitive documents are targeted by hostile nations and other adversaries who continually conduct espionage and wiretapping activities here in the U.S. Former President Donald Trump attends the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Aug. 6, 2022. Bloomberg via Getty Images The loss of classified information would “harm” national security — the loss of classified documents would cause “serious harm” to national security, and the breach of highly classified material creates the potential for “extremely serious harm to national security,” according to in Executive Order No. 13526 signed by then President Barack Obama in 2009. Among the critical questions in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago raid are how critical documents were stored at the White House and how so many crates of classified material could be removed in the first place. who exactly was involved in authorizing the removal of the material and who removed the material; how the material was transported to Mar-a-Lago — by plane, by truck — and who had access to it in transit. Top Secret material must have specially authorized transportation, may not be sent through the U.S. mail, and may only be forwarded by an authorized government courier service. Other critical questions include: was the material stored at Mar-a-Lago, who had access to it, and was it under constant surveillance by a security camera? and what were the security measures and protocols. The Presidential Records Act states that presidential records are automatically transferred to the legal custody of the archivist as soon as the president leaves office.
