U.S. intelligence officers are currently preparing to evaluate the risk to national security in documents taken from Trump’s former home.
“The Department of Justice is working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to conduct a review of the relevant materials. ODNI will also conduct an Intelligence Community assessment (IC) of the possible risk to national security that could result from disclosure of relevant materials,” a spokesperson for The Epoch Times told The Epoch Times via email Aug. 27.
The ODNI supervises 17 intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and the CIA. Avril Haines, an appointee of Biden, is the current director for national intelligence.
FBI officers seized classified material from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Florida, on August 8, according to an inventory that agents provided to Trump attorneys. According to an FBI agent’s affidavit, agents also discovered classified material in boxes of documents which were sent from Mar-a-Lago in January to the U.S. government. This information was published Friday.
Trump stated that he has declassified these materials.
The U.S. is investigating Trump’s possible violations of federal law. This includes a law that governs the transmission of national defense information.
Close Coordination
The ODNI spokesperson stated that the agency will work closely with DOJ, which also includes FBI to ensure the intelligence community assessment is conducted “in a way that does not unduly interfer with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation.”
The DOJ didn’t immediately reply to a comment request.
A variety of legislators had asked for a damage assessment. This included Mark Warner, Senate Intelligence Chairman (D.Va.), and Adam Schiff, House Intelligence Chair (D.Calif.).
An ODNI Policy states that a damage assessment is required when classified intelligence has been unauthorizedly disclosed or compromised and could cause harm to U.S. security .”
An assessment may also be performed if there’s a suspected or actual loss, misuse or unauthorized access or modification to classified intelligence that could adversely impact national security,” according to the policy.
Haines notified Schiff and House Oversight Chairman Carolyn Maloney (D.N.Y.), in a Friday letter about the damage assessment. The spokesperson for ODNI confirmed this.
Maloney, Schiff didn’t respond to our requests for comment.
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Zachary Stieber reports on U.S. news and international affairs. His office is in Maryland.
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