Trump was subpoenaed for folder with classification markings before turning it over, report says

Latest batch of turned-over documents follows FBI searches at Biden, Pence residences

Donald Trump’s latest batch of documents turned over to the US Justice Department came after another subpoena was issued for the material, according to a new report.

The Guardian reported on Saturday that Mr Trump’s handover of a laptop as well as an empty folder marked “classified evening briefing” and one document marked classified occurred after at least one of the items, the folder, was observed by an FBI source in the former president’s private residence.

That would likely mean the materials were not secured in the same fashion that others taken from a storage area and Mr Trump’s private office were held; if so, it could potentially mean that prosecutors looking into whether Mr Trump or others mishandled classified materials have more ammunition to use. According to multiple news reports, the laptop seized by investigators was owned by one of Mr Trump’s current aides.

The existence of a second subpoena is notable because it was the former president’s defiance of a previous subpoena that led to a shocking September FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago resort and residence, an incident which kicked off a one-sided war of words between Mr Trump and the Justice Department.

The decisions of both Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence to comply with investigators looking for similar materials at their respective residences has been credited by experts for the FBI’s markedly different demeanour towards them. Both Mr Pence and Mr Biden recently submitted to FBI searches of their residences, after both men had previously announced the discovery of some classified materials and handed them over to the FBI.

A federal grand jury is reportedly hearing evidence related to the Mar-a-Lago documents search; Mr Trump also remains at the centre of other criminal investigations thanks to the efforts of the Justice Department to prosecute the participants in the January 6 insurrection, and the work of investigators in Georgia to examine the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Mr Trump remains a candidate for the presidency once again in 2024 and, as a result, the Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to determine whether he will face any criminal charges. His lawyers are now expected to fight the special counsel’s attempt to subpoena Mr Pence for testimony related to January 6.

The House’s now-defunt January 6 committee recommended that he be charged with several criminal counts, including giving comfort to an insurrection.

The former president has insisted that the investigations currently enveloping him are actually part of a long-running campaign by his various political enemies to stop him from seeking office, though he was handily defeated by Mr Biden in the 2020 election. His chosen candidates also suffered key defeats in November, leading to Republicans failing to capture the US Senate in the 2022 midterms.

His rhetoric against the FBI and Department of Justice was blamed last year in a joint FBI/DHS memo for rising threats of violence against federal law enforcement personnel.