National Archives: Donald Trump removed classified documents from the White House

The National Archives said Friday that documents former President Donald Trump removed from the White House in early 2021 included classified and top secret national security information and that it has contacted the Department of Justice about the matter.

The agency "has identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes" that Trump stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Fla.,  the National Archives and Records Administration said in a letter to Rep, Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.

The letter – signed by David S. Ferriero, the national archivist – also said that "because NARA identified classified information in the boxes, NARA staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice."

The Archives did not detail its contacts with Justice Department officials or the nature of the classified documents that Trump stored in Florida.

Maloney, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and other lawmakers have asked the National Archives and the Justice Department to investigate whether Trump violated the Presidential Records Act. That law requires chief executives to turn over all official records when they leave office.

After receiving the response from the Archives, Maloney said "these new revelations deepen my concern about former President Trump’s flagrant disregard for federal records laws and the potential impact on our historical record."

The Justice Department had no comment on the Archives' disclosures.

Last month, the National Archives recovered 15 boxes of documents that Trump moved to Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House on Jan. 20, 2021.