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| FBI Finds Other Countries' Nuclear Defense Documents at US Former President Donald Trump's Residence |
Washington - The federal investigative bureau, the FBI, found documents describing another government's nuclear capabilities during a search of former US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
The news was reported by the Washington Post citing an unnamed source. The US newspaper did not identify the foreign government named in the document describing the country's military defence. The contents of more than 11,000 government documents and photos of FBI agents recovered from Trump's residence last month have not been revealed, but earlier reports from the Washington Post indicated classified documents on nuclear weapons were among the items being sought by federal authorities.
Some of the records seized from Donald Trump's Florida residence are usually heavily guarded and have "designated control officers" to monitor the location of the documents. According to the Washington Post report, among the records found by the FBI were documents detailing US covert operations that required special "need-to-know" permission, beyond covert clearance.
"Some of the Biden administration's most senior national security officials were not authorized to review some of the documents because they were so restricted," the Washington Post wrote.
Trump is being investigated by the Justice Department for his unauthorized removal of highly sensitive government records from the White House and for allegedly storing them improperly at Mar-a-Lago.
The findings are the latest twist in a weeks-long saga that began when US government agents carried out an unprecedented search of the former US president's Florida home. Trump has attacked the department, including on a campaign weekend in which he called the FBI and Justice Department "vicious monsters".
Many others, including the former Trump-era attorney general, William Barr, have defended the investigation into his government's record-keeping, saying it poses a major national security risk.
A federal judge recently granted Trump's request for the appointment of a special master to review documents seized from Mar-a-Lago on August 8. The decision by Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, temporarily prevents the Justice Department from reviewing her criminal investigation record until after a special masters review.