The DOJ is investigating if Trump broke 3 federal laws, including the Espionage Act, when he took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago

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The Justice Department is investigating if former President Donald Trump violated three federal laws involving the handling of national security information when he moved government records from the White House to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office.

That’s according to the right-wing news website Breitbart, which appeared to have obtained the warrant the FBI got to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in south Florida.

Per the warrant, the feds are scrutinizing if Trump broke laws against gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information; the destruction, alteration, or falsification of records; and the concealment, removal, or mutilation of records.

The statute against gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information is a key facet of the Espionage Act. Earlier this afternoon, The Wall Street Journal reported that federal agents recovered 11 sets of classified information when they searched Mar-a-Lago on Monday.

According to the report, some of the classified records were marked top secret and meant to be stored in a special government facility because of their sensitivity. The Washington Post also reported late Thursday that the feds were specifically searching for classified nuclear documents when they executed the warrant at Mar-a-Lago this week.

Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent and an editor at Just Security, wrote on Twitter that given the highly sensitive nature of the documents, it was “no wonder” the Justice Department pursued a warrant against Trump.

“DOJ, for its part, has frankly shown a willingness to risk national security, at least temporarily, in order to show some deference and courtesy (and benefit if the doubt) to a former POTUS,” Rangappa wrote. “I think it’s fair to say that if you or I tried this, we’d be arrested on Day 1.”

Shortly after Breitbart and other news outlets obtained the warrant Friday, the Justice Department informed a federal judge that Trump’s team did not object to its motion to unseal records related to the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the motion at a news conference Thursday and said the department took the unusual step of asking a court to unseal the warrant because of Trump’s statements about the raid and the resulting public interest in the matter.

“The department did not make any public statements on the day of the search,” Garland said. “The former president publicly confirmed the search that evening, as is his right.”

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