New Mar-a-Lago photos show chaotic storage of classified documents
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New photos released by prosecutors in former President Trump's classified documents case show papers and boxes labeled "secret" tucked away with holiday decorations, clothing items and magazines.
Newly released photographs from the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago paint a picture of the haphazard state in which former President Trump kept documents marked as classified.
Why it matters: While Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the former president's alleged mishandling of classified documents has been indefinitely delayed as Judge Aileen Cannon considers a series of motions from the presumptive GOP nominee's legal team, the never-before-seen photos offer a wider glimpse into the chaotic scene investigators found.
Zoom in: Prosecutors, in response to Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment, said in a memorandum unsealed Tuesday that the boxes in which classified documents were found had "no apparent organization whatsoever."
- Documents found during the 2022 search were tucked away with clothing, picture frames and Christmas ornaments.
- "This is not a case where reams of identically-sized documents were stacked neatly in file folders or redwelds, arrayed perfectly within a box," the government's response read, arguing against the former commander in chief's claim that investigators disarranged the boxes' contents.
- Prosecutors contended that "at every stage, the agents have maintained the integrity of each container in which the evidence was found."
Driving the news: The trove of images shows papers strewn across the floor of the South Florida resort and boxes clearly marked "confidential" and "secret" containing a mix of documents and a random graveyard of dated newspaper clippings, golf shirts and binders.
What they're saying: "Trump personally chose to keep documents containing some of the nation's most highly guarded secrets in cardboard boxes along with a collection of other personally chosen keepsakes of various sizes and shapes from his presidency — newspapers, thank you notes, Christmas ornaments, magazines, clothing and photographs of himself and others," the Monday court filing read.
Flashback: When Trump left the White House, "scores of boxes, many of which contained classified documents," were transported to his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the 49-page indictment released last year alleged.
- Previous filings in the case have revealed that documents were also found in Trump's bedroom, a bathroom shower, a storage room and a ballroom.
The big picture: The South Florida case is unlikely to go to trial before the 2024 election after Cannon postponed it last month.
- Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge overseeing the case, has become the target of harsh scrutiny for her drawn-out approach, being accused of intentionally setting a sluggish pace in the case.
Go deeper: Trump's attorneys found classified docs in his bedroom months after raid
