Day 587: "A lot of classified records."
Today in one sentence: The Justice Department identified "a limited set" of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that are potentially covered by attorney-client privilege; a heavily redacted copy of the FBI affidavit used to justify the search of Mar-a-Lago revealed that 14 of the 15 boxes Trump returned in January contained 184 documents with classification markings; the U.S. intelligence community will conduct a damage assessment of the possible risks to national security stemming from Trump’s handling of the top-secret documents stored at Mar-a-Lago; a judge ruled that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp must testify in the grand jury investigating Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election; and Democrats have a 67% chance to win the Senate.
1/ The Justice Department identified “a limited set” of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that are potentially covered by attorney-client privilege. The disclosure that a Justice Department “filter team” had completed its review of documents taken from Mar-a-Lago came as Trump’s lawyers pressed a federal judge two weeks after the Aug. 8 search to appoint a special master to review the documents. The filter team is separate from the team involved in the criminal investigation and “is in the process of following the procedures” spelled out in the search warrant to handle any privilege disputes. (New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / Bloomberg / CNN / NPR / Associated Press)
2/ A heavily redacted copy of the FBI affidavit used to justify the search of Mar-a-Lago revealed that 14 of the 15 boxes Trump returned in January contained 184 documents with classification markings, including 25 marked “top secret,” 92 marked “secret,” and 67 marked “confidential.” Several of the documents contained Trump’s “handwritten notes,” some were related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and not meant to be shared with foreign nations, and others refer to the systems used to protect intelligence gathered from secret human sources. The National Archives referred the matter to the Justice Department on Feb. 9 after finding what they described as “a lot of classified records.” The Justice Department wrote in its request for the search that there is “probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found” at Trump’s house. (Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / Associated Press / Axios / New York Times)
3/ The U.S. intelligence community will conduct a damage assessment of the possible risks to national security stemming from Trump’s handling of the top-secret documents stored at Mar-a-Lago. In the letter to the House Intelligence and Oversight Committees, Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, informed the lawmakers that her office would lead an “assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents.” Haines added that the DNI and Justice Department are “working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search.” (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNN)
4/ A judge ruled that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp must testify in the grand jury investigating Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Judge Robert McBurney, however, agreed to delay that testimony until after the Nov. 8 election. Kemp is running for reelection against Democrat Stacey Abrams. (NBC News / Politico / Axios / New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press)
5/ The Biden administration will end its free at-home Covid-19 test program this week due to a lack of funding. Officials said they want to preserve supply ahead of an anticipated fall surge in cases. (NPR / NBC News / CNN)
poll/ 55% of voters approve of the Inflation Reduction Act, while 45% disapprove. 54% approve of student loan debt relief, while 46% disapprove. (CBS News)
poll/ Democrats have a 67% chance to win the Senate – up from 40% on June 1. Republicans, meanwhile, have an 77% chance to win the House in the midterm elections – down from 86% on June 1. (FiveThirtyEight)
- Democrats see a narrow path to keeping the House. “While Democrats acknowledge they still face major hurdles, there has been an unmistakable mood shift, according to interviews with candidates, strategists and officials.” (Washington Post)
poll/ 44% of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing – up six percentage points since July. (Gallup)
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