Citing possible violations of US espionage law, US FBI investigators searched former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. The law prohibits the government from forcibly keeping private defense records.
The search team found at least 11 sets of classified documents, some of which were top secret, according to the Department of Justice.
Additionally, the research was conducted as part of a federal investigation into whether Trump deleted official records after leaving office in January 2021. Trump addressed the issue on social media when speaking about the research.
He claimed the records had been “fully declassified” and kept in “safe storage”. Via India Today, he said:
Espionage Act
Congress enacted the Espionage Act two months after US involvement in World War I
For allegedly breaking the Espionage Act, Donald Trump is under surveillance. The law was created during World War I to end American disloyalty.
The documents that were discovered at his home in Florida are only meant to be stored and viewed in high-security government buildings.
In order to find “physical documents and records containing evidence, contraband, proceeds of crime, or other materials unlawfully held in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917,” federal authorities conducted the search. This suggests that the circumstance is also serious.
Only two months had passed since the United States had joined World War I when Congress passed the law. The law essentially prohibits obtaining information about national defense materiel in a way that could subsequently harm the United States or benefit a foreign country.
Anyone who prevents recruitment into the armed forces or shows disloyalty to the military or naval forces faces criminal penalties under the law.
The law addresses incidents of improper handling of top secret and classified official documents, in addition to preventing the disclosure of private information to persons inside or outside the United States.
Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 election opponent, was also investigated over the Espionage Act for using a private email server that contained sensitive data.
According to former FBI director James Comey, there was not enough evidence against Clinton to show that she intended to illegally release top-secret information.
Donald Trump has not yet been charged with breaking the Espionage Act as investigations are ongoing.
More on Donald Trump vs. the FBI
According to reports, the FBI removed 30 items, including 20 boxes, numerous photo binders, a handwritten note addressed to longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone, and an executive pardon for Stone. The “President of France” was also mentioned on the list.
The warrant stated that FBI agents were to search an area known as “Office 45,” which may have been because Trump was the nation’s 45th president. They were also instructed to scour any other rooms in the estate that might contain documents.
The warrant was approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, according to the Justice Department. The section of the law stated that the warrant prohibited the illegal or unauthorized possession of national defense information, even though the warrant did not state why investigators had reason to believe the law was violated. spying.
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was found guilty of 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act for receiving and disseminating top secret government documents, among other cases involving the Espionage Act in the States -United.
Edward Snowden, a former CIA analyst, was also charged with breaking the law. In 2013, he was found to have released sensitive and classified documents relating to the National Security Agency’s surveillance program.
