Almost six months after the FBI launched an unprecedented raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, U.S. officials have finally agreed to brief congressional leaders on their investigation. The announcement comes just days after Senators Marco Rubio (R) and Mark Warner (D) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding transparency. The briefing is expected to address the classified documents seized from the residences of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Mike Pence.
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House Intel Chair Mike Turner told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday that U.S. officials promised a briefing sometime this week. Turner has been critical of the Department of Justice’s secrecy and said that the briefing was long overdue, “This administration needs to understand we do have national security urgent matters.”
Turner noted the timing of the DOJ’s sudden compliance with intel committee demands, “What’s interesting is that the moment this balloon became public, I got a notice not from the administration that I’m going to get a briefing on this balloon, but they have to rush to Congress now to talk to us about Donald Trump’s documents. You can see they want to change the news.”
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Turner argued during the interview that the Biden administration was attempting to distract from the current president’s mishandling of a Chinese spy balloon that violated U.S. airspace.
“There is nothing scheduled on the balloon, but they’re scheduling Donald Trump.”
Chuck Todd: "You and others asked for briefing on all of the classified documents that has been discovered from President Trump, Biden and VP Pence. Where you're on that?"
Rep. Mike Turner: "There is nothing scheduled on the ballon, but they are scheduling Donald Trump." pic.twitter.com/EvsfGQkVjW
— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) February 5, 2023
Three other members of the “Gang of Eight,” – the bipartisan leadership of the House and Senate intel committees – confirmed that they were expecting a briefing from officials this week, according to a report by the Associated Press. The report also suggested that the briefing would not include direct access to the documents seized by federal agents, falling short of the demands made by Rubio and Warner.
‘Rubio Demands Briefing on Mar-a-Lago Raid, Biden’s Classified Documents
The DOJ claims that around 300 documents bearing classified markings were seized during the raid of Mar-a-Lago last August. About 13,000 documents total were taken from the property by federal agents. Federal prosecutors have considered bringing charges against the former president, but details of the investigation have yet to be made public and have yet to be shared with the congressional intel committees.
Matters were further complicated after documents bearing classified markings were discovered in November at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. An investigation revealed more batches of documents stored in the garage and private library at the president’s home in Delaware. In January, the FBI seized six more sets of documents in Biden’s home. A search of his vacation home was authorized but did not turn up any classified material.
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On January 19, classified documents were discovered in former vice president Mike Pence’s Indiana home after he initiated a voluntary search of the property. The FBI seized those documents as well.
The upcoming closed-door briefing is expected to address the ongoing investigations into all three White House alumni.
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