Schiff says he's seen "no evidence" that Trump declassified documents found at Mar-a-Lago

cbsnews.com ^ | August 14, 2022 | MELISSA QUINN

[lowbridge]

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, head of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that he has not seen evidence that former President Donald Trump declassified documents that were found by the FBI during a search of his South Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, last week.

"We should determine, you know, whether there was any effort during the presidency to go through the process of declassification," Schiff said in an interview on "Face the Nation." "I've seen no evidence of that, nor have they presented any evidence of that."

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The former president's attorneys did not object to the release of the search warrant and related documents, and he claimed all the records seized during the search had been declassified while he was still in office.

While a sitting president has broad declassification authority, Schiff noted that does not extend to a former president and called it "absurd" for Trump to claim he retroactively declassified the documents he took to Mar-a-Lago.

He also noted the statutes the Justice Department said in the warrant it is investigating Trump for possibly violating do not require information to be classified.

"If they would be damaging to national security, it's a problem. It's a major problem," the California Democrat said.

Schiff also said it's a "serious problem" if Trump's attorneys certified to the Justice Department that all classified information was retrieved when the National Archives and Records Administration obtained 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago in mid-January, but did not turn over all classified or national security information. Some of the boxes the National Archives retrieved contained classified material and the agency requested the Justice Department investigate Trump's handling of White House records.

[ronnie raygun]

when do we give him a cell next to his perverted black murdering buddy