CNN'S KATELYN COLLINS AND JESSICA SCHNEIDER JOIN US. "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" A
COUPLE OF MINUTES AGO, WHAT ARE THEY REPORTING?
>> ALEX LEERY AT "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" CLAIMS TO HAVE
SEEN A GOOD AMOUNT OF THE DOCUMENTS HERE THAT WOULD BE
WITHIN THIS SEARCH WARRANT CASE. THE SEARCH WARRANTS ITSELF AS
WELL AS THE RECEIPT HANDED TO DONALD TRUMP AND HIS ATTORNEYS
WHEN THE FBI LEFT, SEIZING ITEMS.
SPECIFICALLY, "THE JOURNAL" IS REPORTING THAT IT IS 11 SETS OF
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS THAT WERE REMOVED FROM MAR-A-LAGO ON
MONDAY. IF WE BREAK IT DOWN, IF YOU LOOK
IN THE STORY, IT SAYS ONE SET OF DOCUMENTS MARKED AS VARIOUS
CLASSIFIED TSSCI DOCUMENTS, THAT'S SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED
INFORMATION. THAT IS A VERY HIGH
CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION WHERE ONLY SPECIAL
PEOPLE IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE SORTS
OF RECORDS, TSSCI. THERE'S ALSO FOUR SETS OF TOP
SECRET DOCUMENTS THAT WERE REMOVED FROM MAR-A-LAGO, THREE
SETS OF SECRET DOCUMENTS, AND THREE SETS OF CONFIDENTIAL
DOCUMENTS. THOSE ARE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF
CLASSIFICATION IN THE SYSTEM. WE ALSO KNOW FROM "THE
JOURNAL"'S REPORTING IS THEY ARE SAYING THE SEARCH WARRANT ITSELF
AUTHORIZED THE SEARCH OF THE 45 OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP, THE 45th
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AS WELL AS STORAGE ROOMS AND
AREAS WITHIN THE PREMISES USED OR AVAILABLE TO BE USED BY THE
FORMER PRESIDENT AND HIS STAFF AND IN WHICH BOXES AND DOCUMENTS
COULD BE STORED. SO THAT IS THE NEW REPORTING.
AND WE STILL ARE AWAITING SEEING WHETHER THIS IS INDEED EXACTLY
WHAT THE DOCUMENT SAYS. IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE IN
THOSE DOCUMENTS AS WELL. >> LET'S GO TO JESSICA NOW, AND
THIS "THE WASHINGTON POST" REPORTING ON THE FBI SEARCH
POTENTIALLY FOR DOCUMENTS RELATED TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
TELL US ABOUT THAT. >> VICTOR, EVERYTHING IS
DOVETAILING HERE. KATELYN REPORTED WHAT "THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL" SAID IS IN THESE BOXES.
"THE WASHINGTON POST" SAYS IT'S RELATED TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
OUR TEAM WAS TOLD THAT INVESTIGATORS HAD THIS EVIDENCE,
THAT POTENTIALLY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS WERE STILL AT
MAR-A-LAGO, EVEN AFTER THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES RETRIEVED
THOSE 15 BOXES OF DOCUMENTS BACK IN JANUARY.
SO INVESTIGATORS BELIEVED HERE THAT THE DOCUMENTS THAT REMAINED
AT MAR-A-LAGO HAD NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS.
WE'RE SEEING FROM "THE WASHINGTON POST" RELATED TO
NUCLEAR WEAPONS. AND WE ALSO LEARNED FROM OUR
TEAM THAT SOME OF THE BOXES HAD INFORMATION THAT WERE PART OF
SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAMS. THIS IS A CLASSIFICATION THAT
SEVERELY LIMITS WHO HAS ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION SINCE IT IS
SO HYPERSENSITIVE. ALL OF THIS DOVETAILING WITH
WHAT "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" IS NOW REPORTING ABOUT THESE 20
BOXES OF ITEMS, 11 SETS OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS.
"THE WASHINGTON POST" SAYING AGENTS SPECIFICALLY SOUGHT THEE
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS RELATED TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
VICTOR, GIVEN THESE HUGE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS
HERE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S LIKELY WHAT PROMPTED THIS
COURT-SANCTIONED SEARCH ON MONDAY.
AS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SAID YESTERDAY, THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT USUALLY SEEKS ALTERNATIVES TO A SEARCH LIKE
THIS. OUR TEAM HAS REPORTED OVER THE
PAST FEW DAYS THAT INVESTIGATORS HAD BEEN TO MAR-A-LAGO IN RECENT
MONTHS. THEY TALKED WITH TRUMP'S
ATTORNEYS. AND THEN THOSE ATTORNEYS WERE
EVEN TOLD TO SECURE A STORAGE AREA AT MAR-A-LAGO.
LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE CONCERN THAT EVEN MORE CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS REMAINED. SO A LOT OF LIKELY NATIONAL
SECURITY CONCERNS HERE. AND OF COURSE, LOOKING AT THAT
LOOMING 3:00 P.M. DEADLINE, POTENTIALLY GETTING MORE DETAIL
ABOUT WHAT THOSE AGENTS TOOK, ONCE IT'S DETERMINED WHETHER OR
NOT THE TRUMP TEAM IS GOING TO FIGHT UNSEALING THIS SEARCH
WARRANT, VICTOR. >> LET'S TAKE THAT BACK TO
KATELYN. THE DETAIL HERE IS THAT THE
JUDGE ASKED TRUMP'S ATTORNEYS NOT TO COME BACK TO HIM BUT TO
ALERT THE DOJ BY 3:00; IS THAT CORRECT?
>> Reporter: THAT IS CORRECT. THIS IS A CASE THAT WAS OPENED
BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. IT WAS UNDER SEAL INITIALLY.
IT STILL IS UNDER SEAL, ALL THE DOCUMENTS IN IT.
SO WHAT WAS HAPPENING IS THE JUDGE SAID, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT,
TALK TO DONALD TRUMP, NOW THAT YOU HAVE REQUESTED TO UNSEAL
THESE DOCUMENTS IN THE SEARCH WARRANT, AND LET ME KNOW,
BECAUSE THEY ARE THE CONTROLLING ATTORNEYS RIGHT NOW IN THAT
CASE. SO WE ARE STILL WAITING, WE ARE
WITHIN THE HOUR OF THE DEADLINE. IT'S 2:05 RIGHT NOW, 3:00 IS THE
DEADLINE. WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING FROM
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OR FROM TRUMP'S TEAM OTHER THAN A LATE
NIGHT STATEMENT FROM DONALD TRUMP ON SOCIAL MEDIA SAYING HE
WAS ENCOURAGING THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF THOSE DOCUMENTS.
AND "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" REPORT DOESN'T REALLY INDICATE
WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN ACCESS EITHER, IT'S CITING
DOCUMENTS REVIEWED BY "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL."
SO WE STILL DON'T KNOW THE FINAL POSITION DONALD TRUMP AND HIS
TEAM ARE TAKING, WHETHER THEY SUPPORT THE RELEASE OF THESE
DOCUMENTS OR NOT. >> KATELYN POLANTZ, JESSICA
SCHNEIDER, THANK YOU BOTH. LET'S BRING IN SENIOR LEGAL
ANALYST ELIE HONIG, AND JOSHUA SCHOOL, PRESIDENT OF BOW WAVE
LLC. ELLIE, LET ME START WITH YOU, I
WANT TO GET TO PROCESS LATER, LET'S STARTING WITH THIS
REPORTING FROM "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL."
YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THIS LIST IN THIS NEW REPORTING.
>> THE FBI SEIZED FROM MAR-A-LAGO DOCUMENTS OF ALL
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CLASSIFICATION, FROM THE LOWEST
LEVEL, WHICH IS CONFIDENTIAL, TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE NORMAL
CLASSIFICATION LEVEL. THAT IS A BIG DEAL.
WE'VE HEARD REPORTING ALONG THESE LINES FOR THE LAST SEVERAL
DAYS. ACCORDING TO "THE WALL STREET
JOURNAL," THERE ARE DOCUMENTS CONFIRMING THAT.
THE "B" STORY IS, THE DESCRIPTION OF THE AREAS OF
MAR-A-LAGO THAT THE FBI WAS ALLOWED TO SEARCH, THERE IS NO
SPECIFICATION OF THE BASEMENT OR THE SAFE, ACCORDING TO "THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL" REPORTING, SO IT SEEMS THEY WENT IN THERE WITH A
FAIRLY BROAD MANDATE. >> JOSH, LET ME COME TO YOU NOW.
ONE SET OF THESE DOCUMENTS MARKED AS TOP SECRET SCI.
WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE IN THAT ECHELON, THE VERY TOP OF THE
PYRAMID OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS? >> SO VICTOR, THAT WOULD BE THE
MOST SENSITIVE SECRETS OF THE UNITED STATES, LIKELY CLASSIFIED
TO PROTECT SOURCES AND METHODS. IT WOULD DOVETAIL WITH OTHER
SENSITIVE REPORTING WE'VE SEEN REGARDING THE CAPTURE OF NUCLEAR
INFORMATION WOULD BE IN THERE. CERTAINLY SIGNIFICANT SIGNALS
INTERCEPTS WOULD BE IN THERE AS WELL.
OR COULD BE IN THERE. >> WHEN THERE ARE QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHETHER THIS HAD TO BE A SEARCH WARRANT EXECUTED, WHEN
YOU HAD THIS BREAKDOWN, THESE 11 SETS OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS,
THESE ARE THE TYPES OF DOCUMENTS THAT YOU GO IN AND RETRIEVE, YOU
DON'T WAIT TO ASK CAN YOU HAND THESE OVER, YOU GET A JUDGE TO
APPROVE THEM SO YOU CAN BRING THEM BACK TO THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT. >> I WOULD SAY IT WILL BE
INTERESTING TO READ WHAT TRIGGERED THE SEARCH WARRANT.
IT LOOKS IN THE TIMELINE THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S LAWYERS
WERE COOPERATING IN TURNING OVER THESE LAWYERS.
THEN SOMETIME BETWEEN MAY AND THE EXECUTION OF THE SEARCH
WARRANT, THERE SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING THAT TRIGGERED THAT,
BECAUSE IF THEY WERE AWARE IN MAY THAT THERE WAS SENSITIVE
MATERIAL IN THAT ROOM, ONE MIGHT THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE ACTED
SOONER. >> THIS TOP SECRET SCI, DO YOU
KNOW, MAYBE YOU DON'T, IT'S JUST SOMETHING I CONSIDERED ON THE
WALK-UP HERE, IF A FORMER PRESIDENT RETAINS THE CLEARANCE
TO VIEW INFORMATION AT THAT LEVEL?
OF COURSE WHEN HE IS THE EXECUTIVE, HE HAS THAT
CLEARANCE. BUT AFTER HE LEAVES THE OFFICE,
DOES HE RETAIN IT? >> SO HE LIKELY -- YES, HE
RETAINS HIS CLEARANCE LEVEL. BUT IN ORDER TO HAVE ACCESS TO
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, YOU NEED TWO THINGS.
YOU NEED THE CLEARANCE LEVEL AND THE NEED TO KNOW.
NOW, OFTEN, FORMER EXECUTIVES IN THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY,
CERTAINLY THE PRESIDENT, MAY HAVE THAT NEED TO KNOW AND HAVE
THE CLASSIFICATION. WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE SEE THE
DOCUMENTS. >> YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS, I WANT
TO GET A LITTLE MORE INTO IT, ABOUT THE BREADTH OF THIS SEARCH
WARRANT, NOT JUST A FEW LOCATIONS.
WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS A RETRIEVAL OF DOCUMENTS IN
GENERAL. THERE WAS ANOTHER SUBPOENA THAT
WAS OBTAINED BEFORE THE MEETING IN JUNE.
AND THEN THIS INFORMANT, AS WE REPORTED YESTERDAY, WHO SAID
THERE'S MORE HERE. THIS WARRANT LOOKS LIKE THE DOJ
SAID, WE NEED TO GO AND FIND WHATEVER IS LEFT TO CLEAN IT UP
ONCE AND FOR ALL. >> SO THIS IS ENOUGH DETAIL TO
PUT IN A SEARCH WARRANT. LEGALLY, IF YOU BRING IT TO A
JUDGE, HE OR SHE WILL NOT SAY YOU NEED TO BE MORE SPECIFIC.
THEY'LL SAY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO INTO THE GUEST ROOMS, WE'LL
GO INTO THE WORKING OFFICES. WHAT THEY DON'T SAY IS THE
BASEMENT, THE SAFE, THIS PARTICULAR ROOM.
THAT COULD BE BECAUSE THEY JUST DIDN'T KNOW, THE FBI DID NOT
HAVE THAT LEVEL OF SPECIFICITY. OR IT COULD BE BECAUSE THEY DID
HAVE THAT LEVEL OF SPECIFICITY, THEY KNEW WHERE TO LOOK BUT THEY
DIDN'T WANT TO POTENTIALLY EXPOSE OR OUT THE CI, BECAUSE
MAYBE THE THOUGHT WAS, IF WE KNOW TO GO INTO THIS VERY
SPECIFIC ROOM OR LOCATION, THAT COULD TIP PEOPLE OFF THAT SO AND
SO IS THE INFORMANT HERE. WHEN I SAY "CI" I MEAN
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT. SO THAT COULD BE A TACTICAL
REASON. >> THESE DOCUMENTS, AS SENSITIVE
AS THEY ARE, ONE SET AT THE VERY HIGHEST LEVEL, FOUR SETS OF
DOCUMENTS THAT WERE TOP SECRET, HAVE BEEN AT MAR-A-LAGO, A BEACH
CLUB, FOR A YEAR AND A HALF. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?
IS THERE NO SURVEY OF THESE DOCUMENTS, THE STRICT CONTROLS
OVER THEM? HOW HAVE THEY BEEN THERE SO
LONG? >> THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION,
VICTOR. I DON'T KNOW.
THERE ARE FOLKS THAT HAVE ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
CERTAINLY AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS, TSSCI, THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE
REQUIRED TO BE MAINTAINED IN AN SCIF OR BE ESCORTED.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER. I'M SURE IN THE COMING DAYS WE
WILL BE FINDING OUT MORE AND MORE, CERTAINLY WHEN THEY
RELEASE THE AFFIDAVIT, CERTAINLY AS WE CONTINUE TO READ OTHER
REPORTING THAT'S GOING ON AND HOW THAT GOT MIXED IN AND WAS
NOT SEPARATED WHEN THE PRESIDENT LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE.
IF I MIGHT, ON THE DOCUMENT SEARCH WARRANT, TO ELIE'S POINT,
IT READS LIKE A NORMAL DOCUMENT SEARCH WARRANT.
IT IS SOMEPLACE WHERE ANY PLACE THAT THESE DOCUMENTS COULD BE
STORED OR LOCATED. THAT'S HOW I INTERPRET THAT.