Federal judge found �strong evidence� of crimes before Trump was charged
in classified documents case

Months before Donald Trump was indicted for mishandling classified
documents, a federal judge said that investigators had �strong evidence�
that the former president �intended� to hide classified documents at his
Mar-a-Lago resort, according to newly released court documents.

Judge Beryl Howell cited, among other things, the discovery of additional
classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago months after the FBI�s search of
the property in the summer of 2022. The records included a �mostly empty�
folder marked as �Classified Evening Summary� that was found in the
former president�s bedroom, as well as four other documents with
classification markings found in his post-presidential office at the
resort.

�Notably, no excuse is provided as to how the former president could miss
the classified-marked documents found in his own bedroom at Mar-a-Lago,�
Howell wrote in March 2023.
Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his legal
team in a Manhattan court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is
appearing in court on charges related to falsifying business records in a
hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a
crime. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Related article Your latest questions about Trump�s trial, answered

The ruling was among hundreds of pages of previously sealed filings that
were publicly docketed Tuesday in the criminal classified documents case
against Trump. Included as well were new images of Walt Nauta, Trump�s
personal aide, moving boxes around Mar-a-Lago room before the a Trump
attorney was to review the boxes for classified materials sought by a
subpoena.

Prosecutors say Nauta moved boxes around as part of an alleged conspiracy
to conceal classified material from federal investigators.

Nauta has been charged alongside Trump and Mar-a-Lago property manager
Carlos De Oliveira in the case, facing charges of mishandling sensitive
or classified materials and obstruction. All three have pleaded not
guilty.

The photos of Nauta, which appear to be screenshots of surveillance
footage, are dated June 1, 2022 � shortly before the Trump attorney was
slated to canvass the storage room for any documents with classified
markings to be returned to the federal government.

The case against Trump, brought last summer, is currently in front of
Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce, Florida. Cannon is a Trump appointee.
'Not what Jack Smith wanted to hear': Legal expert on judge's move
01:17 - Source: CNN
Judge said that Trump used his attorney as a �front man� to obstruct
probe

Trump�s defense team is seeking to throw out parts of the prosecutors�
case � including all the evidence seized from Mar-a-Lago and obtained
from his former attorney Evan Corcoran, according to the filings in
federal court in South Florida.

Trump�s team argues that the warrant for the search wasn�t valid because
of the way an FBI agent described the agency�s thinking to a magistrate
judge. They are also contesting Howell�s 2023 ruling ordering Corcoran to
provide testimony and produce documents that he had previously withheld
from the grand jury investigating the matter.

Howell, an appointee of Barack Obama, said at the time that prosecutors
had �sufficient evidence to show that the former president� used Corcoran
as �a �front m[a]n� to obstruct the government�s investigation and
perpetuate the former president�s unlawful retention of any classified
documents contained in boxes transferred from the White House.�
This photo from the US Department of Justice allegedly shows Walt Nauta
moving boxes inside former President Donald Trump�s Mar-a-Lago estate in
Palm Beach, Florida.
This photo from the US Department of Justice allegedly shows Walt Nauta
moving boxes inside former President Donald Trump�s Mar-a-Lago estate in
Palm Beach, Florida.
From US Department of Justice

Corcoran played a pivotal role in the investigation into the classified
documents, as he was the attorney who was tasked with finding and
producing documents with classified markings at Trump�s Florida resort.
In the criminal case filed last year, prosecutors say there was
conspiracy led by Trump to move boxes of government records from the
storage room before Corcoran searched for it for classified materials.

Corcoran is referred to as �Person 18� in Howell�s ruling but can be
identified based on what�s known about the case.
Haberman: Former Trump lawyer's notetaking is 'disquieting' to Trump
01:11 - Source: CNN

Among the topics Howell ordered Corcoran to testify about was a June 24,
2022, phone call he had with Trump � the same day investigators
subpoenaed surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago. She also ordered the
production of 88 documents that had been withheld under attorney-client
privilege.

Howell recounted Trump�s actions over the course of several months while
the federal government sought to retrieve the sensitive documents taken
from the White House.

Trump �deliberately curtailed his staff�s efforts to comply� with the
National Archives� initial efforts to retrieve the documents, she wrote.

�The former president�s misdirection of NARA was apparently a dress
rehearsal for his actions in response to the May 11, 2022 subpoena,�
Howell said.

Twenty-one of the 32 national security documents Trump is accused of
criminally mishandling were in the former president�s possession August
8, 2022, the date of the Mar-a-Lago FBI search.

That means that Trump�s team in this newly available motion to suppress
is seeking to cut out from the case those 21 documents�and thus their
related charges�and the hundreds of other classified records around them,
plus the part of the case accusing Trump of obstruction of justice that
is built around Corcoran.
Guidelines for FBI�s search at Mar-a-Lago unsealed

Also unsealed Tuesday was a law enforcement document outlining how the
FBI was authorized to search Mar-a-Lago.

The document, called a law enforcement operations order, explains what
agents were permitted to bring with them when they searched Trump�s
estate and how they were allowed to operate as part of the search. It
also includes boilerplate language from the Justice Department manual
about use of force, including the limited circumstances in which agents
are authorized to use deadly force.

Though the language is standard and directly from the department�s
manual, Trump quickly took to social media Tuesday to decry the 2022
document as having �authorized� deadly force.

�WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the
�Icebox,� and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden�s DOJ, in their
Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO
USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE,� Trump said in a post on Truth Social. �NOW WE
KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE IS
MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE � 25TH AMENDMENT!�

�The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all
search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the
use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and
there was no departure from the norm in this matter,� the FBI said in a
statement.

Much of the plan includes traditional practices by the FBI when executing
a warrant � like how agents are required to have their standard issued
weapon, ammunition and credentials while on duty.

Other parts, however, show the lengths that the bureau went to to
accommodate the former president, including instructions for commanding
agents to wear �unmarked polo or collared shirts� and to keep their �law
enforcement equipment concealed,� as well as references to their efforts
to coordinate with US Secret Service to create a smooth process for
entering the Florida club.

This story has been updated with additional details.