Materials taken from Mar-a-Lago will be assessed for possible national security risks

By Dustin Jones

Published August 27, 2022 at 5:51 PM CDT

The FBI searched former President Donald Trump's residence in Florida on Aug. 8. The U.S. intelligence community will assess whether the documents taken pose a threat to national security, a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told NPR.

Updated August 27, 2022 at 7:48 PM ET

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will review materials taken from former President Donald Trump's home in Florida for potential national security risks.

A spokesperson for ODNI told NPR that intelligence leaders will assess what level of harm could come from releasing documents seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

"ODNI will closely coordinate with [the Justice Department] to ensure this [Intelligence Community] assessment is conducted in a manner that does not unduly interfere with DOJ's ongoing criminal investigation," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a federal judge said she is inclined to grant Trump's request to appoint a special master to oversee the search of the seized material.

The decision is not final, and U.S. District Judge Aileen Gannon also told the Justice Department to produce "a more detailed" list of the items that were taken from Mar-a-Lago.

This is an initial step in a legal process that will span weeks.

Lawmakers back the intelligence community's move

Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House intelligence committee, and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, who chairs the House oversight and reform committee, praised the intelligence community for their assessment in a joint statement.

"The DOJ affidavit, partially unsealed yesterday, affirms our grave concern that among the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago were those that could endanger human sources," they said. "It is critical that the [Intelligence Community] move swiftly to assess and, if necessary, to mitigate the damage done—a process that should proceed in parallel with DOJ's criminal investigation."

A redacted version of the affidavit used by the FBI to search the former president's home was made available Friday, nearly half of which was unreadable, NPR has reported.

According to the affidavit, 184 classified documents were found among 15 boxes taken from the resort earlier this year. Twenty-five of the documents were labeled "Top Secret."