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Jun 9, 2023 - Politics & Policy

In photos: Trump stored classified docs in Mar-a-Lago bathroom and ballroom, DOJ says

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Boxes containing classified documents stored inside a bathroom at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in April 2021.
Boxes stored inside a bathroom at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in April 2021. Photo: Department of Justice

The 37-count federal indictment against former President Trump that was unsealed Friday included pictures of dozens of boxes stored throughout his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Why it matters: The Department of Justice says the boxes, stored everywhere from a shower to a business center, held hundreds of classified documents that, if exposed, could threaten U.S. national security, foreign relations, and the safety of the military.

  • For about three months in 2021, some of Trump's boxes were kept in the ballroom where "events and gatherings took place," the indictment says.
  • Mar-a-Lago, which the indictment said was not an authorized location to store the classified documents, hosted events for tens of thousands of its members and guests while the boxes were at the resort.

In photos:

Boxes containing classified documents that were stored in Mar-a-Lago’s White and Gold Ballroom between January and March 2021.
Boxes containing classified documents that were stored in Mar-a-Lago’s White and Gold Ballroom between January and March 2021. Photo: Department of Justice
Eventually, the boxes were moved to a ground-floor storage room at Mar-a-Lago, per the indictment. Photo: Department of Justice
The boxes in a storage facility at Mar-a-Lago.
The hallway leading to the storage room was accessible through outside entrances, the indictment says. Photo: Department of Justice
In December 2021, a Trump aide found some of the boxes spilled on the floor of the storage room. One document was marked "SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY," meaning it can only be released within the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, per the indictment. Photo: DOJ

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