Justice Department Submits Revised Inventory List of Mar-a-Lago Documents Amid Donald Trump's Planted Evidence Claims
The Justice Department has filed a revised inventory of Mar-a-Lago documents seized in former President Donald Trump's Florida residence.
Trump had claimed without proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) planted evidence when it searched his mansion. NBC News reported that aside from the revised inventory of seized items, the Justice Department also declared the accuracy of the new list.
The court-appointed special master in the case, Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie of New York, had ordered the Department of Justice to file a declaration of all non-classified items to Trump's lawyers.
The list will be part of Dearie's review of documents that FBI agents seized from the Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8. The differences made in the list were mostly the quantity of non-classified government documents and Trump's collection of magazine and newspaper articles.
A federal appeals court earlier ordered that the classified documents should not be included in the special master's review. A total of 55 items were added to the updated list. The Justice Department said more than 11,000 government-owned documents and photographs were removed from the Mar-a-Lago estate.
Justice Department Updated List of Mar-a-Lago Documents
The FBI submitted the first version of the inventory list several weeks ago. The agency noted that it filtered out potentially privileged items in the updated version, according to The Guardian.
In the affidavit, an FBI agent wrote that he was unaware of any documents or materials confiscated from the Mar-a-Lago mansion that did not reflect in the Revised Detailed Property Inventory "other than materials that the Privilege Review Team has not provided to the Case Team."
The unnamed agent added that the changes between the initial and recent lists were "minor." Dearies had gave Donald Trump's lawyers until Friday to provide evidence to back up the claims that the agency was "incorrectly describing" any materials.
Dearie added that the submission of the supporting evidence would be the "plaintiff's final opportunity to raise any factual dispute" regarding the completeness and accuracy of the inventory.
Donald Trump on Mar-a-Lago Documents
Donald Trump also claimed that his powers when he was president were broad, saying he could declassify virtually a document by simply "thinking about it."
According to The New York Times, Trump made this new argument when he defended his decision to keep government documents in his Florida home during an interview with Fox host Sean Hannity last week.
A three-judge appellate panel of the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit had brushed aside the claims that Trump had declassified 100 highly classified documents found in Mar-a-Lago.
The court wrote that there was "no evidence that any of these records were declassified." The court added that declassifying an official document would not alone make it personal or a possession someone could hold onto after leaving office.
Justice Department had obtained a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago and listed the basis of the investigation with three other laws, which include the Espionage Act and obstruction.
Donald Trump has continued to publicly claim that he had declassified everything the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Appeals Court: DOJ Can Resume Criminal Probe of Classified Documents Seized From Mar-a-Lago - From CBS News
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