According to multiple reports, the Justice Department believes that former President Donald Trump has not returned all the government documents in his possession.
Trump has more classified government material, according to the DOJ.
According to the New York Times, the head of the DOJ's counterintelligence operations reached out to Trump's attorneys about the issue.
All documents with classified markings that remain in Trump's possession must be returned, according to CNN.
One side proposed bringing in a forensic firm to look for any remaining documents, while the other side wanted to wait and see.
The Times reported that another side is pushing a more confrontational approach with the DOJ.
A disagreement over the forensic audit proposal has created a rift in Trump's legal team, but it is unclear where this search would take place and if the Trump team thinks he is still in possession of classified documents.
The Wall Street Journal corroborates the story and spoke to Trump's spokesman, Taylor Budowich, who criticized the Department of Justice and the FBI for spending tax dollars on a "witch hunt."
The National Archives and Records Administration said in January that it received 15 boxes of important government records from Trump's Mar-A-Lago residence. The documents may have been in violation of federal record-keeping laws. After receiving a grand jury subpoena demanding the return of any remaining classified materials, Trump's lawyers gave over an envelope containing several government files. More than 100 pieces of classified material were recovered after the FBI executed a search warrant on the property. The DOJ said in a court filing that it suspected that Trump may have concealed or removed sensitive government materials.
The DOJ was not sure if all the documents had been recovered from Trump. The FBI found at least 48 empty folders with classified markings when they searched Trump's property.
Trump tried to prevent the DOJ from looking at the recovered documents. Trump argued that the seized documents should be protected under either attorney-client or executive privilege. Cannon was appointed by Trump to conduct the review. Cannon's ruling was reversed by the 11th Circuit and Dearie couldn't review the recovered classified documents. The Supreme Court was appealed to by Trump.
335. According to a CNN tracker, that is the total number of classified documents that have been recovered from Mar-A-Lago. The FBI seized over 100 of those during its search of Trump's home.
The Justice Department.
The Justice Department wants Trump to return all the classified documents.
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