Day 581: "Mine."
1/ The National Archives said it found more than 700 pages of classified material – including some labeled “Special Access Program” – in the 15 boxes recovered from Trump in January. The National Archives informed Trump’s lawyers about the discovery in a May 10 letter, and said it would provide the FBI with access to the documents in order to investigate “whether those records were handled in an unlawful manner” and “conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps.” National Archives officials spent most of 2021 trying to get the material back from Trump. His lawyers tried to argue that some of the documents were protected by executive privilege despite Biden deferring all decisions regarding executive privilege assertions to top DOJ lawyers. Two officials tasked with representing Trump to the National Archives received calls trying to facilitate the documents’ return. Trump, however, rejected their efforts, calling the boxes of classified documents “mine.” The Justice Department, meanwhile, said it has recovered more than 300 documents with classified markings from Mar-a-Lago, with each document potentially comprising multiple pages. The first set in January, a second batch was delivered in June, and the FBI seized additional material during its August search. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN)
2/ The Justice Department issued a new grand jury subpoena to the National Archives for more documents as part of its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Earlier this year, the Justice Department requested the same documents and information that had previously been shared with the Jan. 6 committee. (CNN)
3/ Elections systems data obtained by Trump’s campaign and Sidney Powell was copied and shared with election deniers, conspiracy theorists, and right-wing commentators. SullivanStrickler was hired in Nov. 2020 to access county election systems in at least three battleground states and copy software and other data. The files were put on a server and downloaded dozens of times by “accounts associated with a Texas meteorologist who has appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show; a podcaster who suggested political enemies should be executed; a former pro surfer who pushed disproven theories that the 2020 election was manipulated; and a self-described former ‘seduction and pickup coach’ who claims to also have been a hacker.” (Washington Post)
4/ A jury convicted two men of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 over her Covid-19 policies. Prosecutors described the plot as a rallying cry for a civil war by anti-government extremists. Barry Croft and Adam Fox face up to life in prison. (New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
5/ Biden is expected to announce Wednesday that he will cancel $10,000 of federal student loans per borrower making $125,000 a year or less, as well as extend the pause on student loan repayment for at least four additional months through December 2022. Roughly 45 million Americans have student debt and owe more than $1.7 trillion collectively. Borrowers are expected to resume loan payments Sept. 1. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
6/ Voters in New York and Florida head to the polls tonight. Democrats in Florida will pick their nominee to face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall. Manhattan Democrats will decide between House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler and House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney. After their districts were merged, only one can advance. Pat Ryan, a Democrat who serves as the executive of Ulster County, has put abortion rights at the center of his campaign in the special election in New York’s 19th District. Republican Marc Molinaro, the Republican executive of Dutchess County who ran for governor in 2018, has focused more on themes of public safety and inflation. (NBC News / Politico / New York Times)