Material on foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

Some seized documents were so closely held, only the president, a Cabinet-level or near-Cabinet level official could authorize others to know

By Devlin Barrett

and

Carol D. Leonnig

Updated September 6, 2022 at 10:36 p.m. EDT|Published September 6, 2022 at 7:53 p.m. EDT

Pages from an FBI property list of items seized from former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and made public by the Department of Justice. FBI agents who searched the home found empty folders marked with classified banners. The inventory reveals in general terms the contents of the 33 boxes taken during the Aug. 8 search. (Jon Elswick/AP)

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A document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property.

Trump classified documents case

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By Devlin Barrett

Devlin Barrett writes about the FBI and the Justice Department, and is the author of "October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election." He was part of reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 and 2022. In 2017 he was a co-finalist for the Pulitzer for Feature Writing and the Pulitzer for International Reporting. Twitter

By Carol D. Leonnig

Carol Leonnig is an investigative reporter, four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of three best-selling books who has worked at The Washington Post since 2000. Twitter

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