The National Archives on Friday confirmed that it found classified information in the boxes of documents that former President Trump took to Mar-a-Lago.
Driving the news: The agency told Congress in a letter that it found documents marked as "classified national security information" in the 15 boxes recovered from Trump's home.
- "Because NARA identified classified information in the boxes, NARA staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice," David Ferriero, the Archivist of the U.S., wrote in a letter to Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Oversight Committee
- The Archives said that "certain social media records" were not captured and preserved by the Trump administration.
- "NARA has also learned that some White House staff conducted official business using non-official electronic messaging accounts that were not copied or forwarded into their official electronic messaging accounts," per the letter.
What they're saying: "The National Archives did not 'find' anything, they were given, upon request, Presidential Records in an ordinary and routine process to ensure the preservation of my legacy and in accordance with the Presidential Records Act," Trump claimed in a statement on Friday.
- "If this was anyone but 'Trump,' there would be no story here," he added.
The big picture: The letter comes as questions mount over whether Trump could be investigated by federal law enforcement for a possible crime over how he handled presidential records.
- Last month, Trump had to return 15 boxes of documents that he took to Mar-a-Lago instead of handing them over to the Archives.
- Archives officials suspected that the former president may have violated laws regarding his handling of official documents, including classified ones, and asked the Justice Department to probe the former president.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from the 45th president.
