As more information has emerged since FBI agents combed through the former president’s private residence, current administration officials have grown increasingly concerned about what Trump has said. taken and whether that information — some of it located in a basement storage facility at Mar-a-Lago — could potentially jeopardize the sources and methods of the U.S. intelligence community.
“There is deep concern,” a senior administration official told CNN.
Intelligence officials also expressed concern about what Trump might have taken, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Representatives of the intelligence community have held discussions with the Justice Department, congressional intelligence committees and the National Archives over the past few months about potentially missing sensitive documents, the source said.
Asked on Wednesday whether to brief Biden on the national security implications, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain insisted the president would keep his distance.
“One of the reasons Joe Biden was elected president was because he promised he would stay clear of interference like his predecessor did in Justice Department investigations. that he would not intervene politically in the enforcement of our laws by the Department of Justice,” he told CNN. Don Lemon.
Without knowing precisely what the documents extracted from Mar-a-Lago contain, officials have raised internal concerns about whether it could hamper the country’s spy agencies by endangering the way officials gather intelligence. . There have also been discussions of potential diplomatic fallout, including whether information found at Mar-a-Lago could cause tension with allies.
The French Embassy in Washington declined to say whether it had any discussions with the White House about the material. The White House also declined to comment on internal concerns about classified information passed to Mar-a-Lago.
Biden, as president, has previously raised concerns about Trump’s handling of sensitive information. He took the unprecedented step early in his term to cut off Trump’s access to intelligence briefings, a courtesy previously extended to all former presidents.
“What’s the value of giving him an intelligence briefing?” Biden said in an interview with CBS News in February 2021. “What impact does he have at all, other than he might slip up and say something?”
Biden aides have previously asked if Trump can reveal classified or sensitive information he learned during his days as president in speeches or interviews, which are often given off the cuff.