Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that he has not seen proof that former President Donald Trump declassified records discovered by the FBI last week during a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.
In an appearance on “Face the Nation,” Schiff stated, “We should establish if any efforts were made under the president to initiate the declassification process.” “Neither I nor they have offered any proof to support this claim.”
Rep. Adam Schiff appeared on “Face the Nation”
A federal magistrate court in Florida released the search warrant and list of goods taken by the FBI on Friday, after outcry from the former president and his Republican supporters over the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at Trump’s house.
The FBI seized 11 sets of classified papers, some of which were marked top secret, secret, and confidential, as well as TS/SCI, or top secret/sensitive compartmented information.
The former president stated that all the papers obtained during the search had been declassified while he was still in office, and his counsel did not object to the publication of the search warrant and accompanying documents.
While a serving president has wide declassification power, Schiff pointed out that this does not apply to a past president and termed Trump’s claim that he retrospectively declassified the materials he brought to Mar-a-Lago “absurd.”
In addition, he highlighted that the laws that the Justice Department said Trump may have violated in its warrant do not need material to be classified.
“If they pose a threat to national security, there is an issue. It’s a serious concern, “said the California Democrat.
Schiff added that it would be a “serious issue” if Trump’s attorneys certified to the Justice Department that all classified information was retrieved when the National Archives and Records Administration obtained 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago in mid-January, but did not turn over all classified or national security information. Some of the boxes seized by the National Archives included sensitive information, prompting the agency to urge an investigation into Trump’s management of White House papers.
“I can assure you that anybody in the intelligence community who had materials designated top secret/SCI in their home after police searched it would be subject to a thorough inquiry,” he stated.
Schiff and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, asked that Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines perform a briefing and damage assessment, as is customary when classified material has been disclosed.
“What is most concerning to me is the extent to which, at least according to public reports, the president’s retention of these records after the government requested their return looks to be intentional,” he added. This adds an additional element of worry.