The U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief on Monday night opposing former President Donald Trump’s request to reinstate a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The brief follows last week’s request by Trump’s legal team for a secure location where the former president could discuss the content of the 32 classified documents he is accused of handling improperly, The Hill reported.
Trump would be “the only defendant ever” to have the benefit of reviewing classified documents at home, the DOJ said in its brief.
“Creating a secure location in Trump’s residence — which is also a social club — so he can discuss classified information would be an unnecessary and unjustified accommodation that deviates from the normal course of cases involving classified discovery,” the DOJ wrote.
While Trump’s team didn’t specifically name Mar-a-Lago, they asked for “the same secure area that existed during President Trump’s term.”
“In making this request for the creation of a secure location for his personal use, Trump continues to seek special treatment that no other criminal defendant would receive. In essence, he is asking to be the only defendant ever in a case involving classified information (at least to the Government’s knowledge) who would be able to discuss classified information in a private residence,” the DOJ wrote.
“The classified discovery, in this case, goes well beyond the charged documents and includes documents so sensitive that Nauta would not have been permitted to view them even when he possessed a security clearance,” the DOJ wrote.
Trump has been indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith in two cases — one involving his handling of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago and the other related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.
Trump faces several charges in that probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Additionally, he was indicted on three additional counts as part of a superseding indictment issued in connection with the same investigation last week.
Trump is facing a second federal indictment from Smith related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency that were stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump faces several charges in that probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.
Additionally, he was indicted on three additional counts as part of a superseding indictment issued in connection with the same investigation last week.
Last week, Smith filed a superseding indictment against Trump, which included new charges related to the willful retention of national defense information and obstruction. The prosecutors alleged that Trump and his aides were involved in instructing a staff member at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to delete security camera footage deliberately. Smith alleged the action was taken to prevent the presentation of evidence to a federal grand jury.
Trump, however, denied the allegations categorically and said he ensured his legal team handed over any requested security footage unaltered.
Fox News Outnumbered co-host Kayleigh McEnany recently sounded off over the “political optics” after recent indictments against Trump.
“If this indictment held, if a conviction was secured, what precedent, applying that retroactively, would have been set in those various circumstances? I think it is a troubling precedent indeed, But rounding this out, I think it’s important to look at what the American people see here when they look at Trump and Biden. I’m talking pure political optics. You look at President Trump, you see a guy with a 53.4 percent RealClearPolitics approval, or I should say that is what he is garnering among Republican voters at this point in time,” McEnany said.
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