Top House lawmakers ask intel officials to review national security damage from Trump document handling
Two top House lawmakers Saturday asked the nation’s intelligence chief to review potential damage to national security stemming from former President Donald Trump’s storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
“Former President Trump’s conduct has potentially put our national security at grave risk. This issue demands a full review, in addition to the ongoing law enforcement inquiry,” wrote House Intelligence committee chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Oversight committee chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) in a three-page letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. They asked for a classified briefing on the review “as soon as possible.”
The two lawmakers, whose panels have jurisdiction over national security and other oversight matters, specifically asked for the DNI’s office to initiate a damage assessment, which would evaluate any harm to national security related to Trump’s handling of the documents. It comes just a day after an unsealed search warrant revealed the FBI was investigating former President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice and potential violation of the Espionage Act.
A receipt accompanying the search warrant showed Trump had documents at Mar-a-Lago marked “TS/SCI,” which indicates one of the highest levels of government classification.
The outreach from the two lawmakers marks the first major oversight step by House committees in the wake of the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago. [Continue reading…]