Special counsel on Mar-a-Lago papers investigating whether Trump showed off secret map, report says
Federal investigators have reportedly questioned Mr Trump about showing sensitive documents to political donors
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Your support makes all the difference.Federal investigators are probing whether or not Donald Trump showed off a map containing sensitive intelligence information to his visitors after he left the White House.
The probe is part of the federal investigation into Mr Trump's handling of classified documents following his presidency.
Investigators have questioned several witnesses about the map, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The New York Times. The nature of the map's contents are unknown.
One of the sources said investigators asked about at least one specific incident, in which Mr Trump allegedly showed the map while he was aboard a plane. Another source determined, based on the questions asked to witnesses, that Mr Trump allegedly showed the map to at least one of his advisors after he left office.
A third person said the map may have also been shown to a journalist writing a book.
Investigators have also reportedly asked Mr Trump about showing off classified materials to political donors, according to a report in the Washington Post.
The questions over the map are part of the larger Department of Justice investigation into Mr Trump's possession of classified materials that were kept at Mar-a-Lago following his presidency.
Last August, the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago during which they recovered boxes of confidential documents that Mr Trump took with him after he left the White House.
Mr Trump has demanded the documents back and insisted they are his possessions. The raid came after the federal government attempted multiple times to recover any classified documents he still had in his possession.
Justice Department officials visited Mar-a-Lago on 3 June, prior to the August search, during which they were given classified documents and obtained a signed certification from one of Mr Trump's lawyers saying a "diligent search" had been conducted to ensure no other classified documents were in his possession.
Federal prosecutors are currently examining whether or not Mr Trump's alleged refusal to return classified documents amounts to obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors cited potential violations of the Espionage Act when requesting the search warrant for last year's raid. Though, per The Times, it’s unclear “whether prosecutors are building a case for other potential charges beyond obstruction.”
Top congressional leaders and senior Democrats and Republicans on intelligence committees in both the House and the Senate were provided access to some of the classified documents recovered during the Mar-a-Lago raid, as well as a smaller number of classified documents recovered from Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.
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