NEIL: TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT
IT MEANS, DATA TO GET A SEARCH
WARRANT, IT IS HEAVILY
REDACTED, ALL 38 PAGES, TO MAKE
OUT WHAT IS IN THERE.
WHAT WE ARE GETTING A SENSE OF
IS THE SCOPE OF THE
INVESTIGATION AND CLASSIFIED
RECORDS REPORTEDLY HELD THERE
INCLUDING SOME THAT WERE
LABELED TOP-SECRET.
WE ARE GLEANING THIS FROM
HILLARY VAUGHAN.
>> Reporter: WE ARE GETTING A
PICTURE OF HOW THIS BEGAN AT
THE START OF THIS PARTIALLY
REDACTED AFFIDAVIT FROM THE
DOJ.
THE WAY THE DOJ MADE THE CASE
TO OBTAIN THIS SEARCH WARRANT
AND ALTERNATELY RATED
MAR-A-LAGO IT STARTED THIS
JANUARY WHEN THE NATIONAL
ARCHIVES RECEIVED 15 BOXES FROM
DONALD TRUMP’S OFFICE AND THE
NATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUND IN
THOSE BOXES MIXED WITH OTHER
RECORDS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION,
THAT TIPPED OFF THE FBI TO
START THE INVESTIGATION TO
FIGURE OUT HOW CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION LEFT THE WHITE
HOUSE WITH THE FORMER PRESIDENT
SO THEY MADE THE CASE TO THE
JUDGE THEY THINK THEIR IS
PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE MORE
DOCUMENTS CONTAINING CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION WERE AT THE
PREMISES AT MAR-A-LAGO. WE ARE GETTING AN INDICATION
WE ARE GETTING AN INDICATION
THESE REPORTS, THERE’S BEEN A
MOLE AT MAR-A-LAGO, IT DOES
MENTION INTELLIGENCE
INFORMATION DERIVED FROM
CLANDESTINE HUMAN SOURCES
REFERRED TO AS HUMAN
INTELLIGENCE.
IT DOESN’T GO FURTHER THAN
DEFINING WHAT IT IS.
UNDER THE PROBABLE CAUSE
PORTION THEY MAKE THE CASE
WHERE DOCUMENTS CONTAINING
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AND
PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS, THIS IS
THE REASONING THEY ARE SPELLING
OUT, BLACKED OUT INFORMATION.
THAT IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE ARE
WORKING WITHIN TRYING TO GET AN
IDEA WHAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE
WAS, THEY GET INFORMATION FROM
THE INFORMANTS, INFORMATION THE
FBI GLEANED FROM THEIR
INVESTIGATION TO BACK THIS UP
BUT I WANT TO END WITH THIS,
TOWARDS THE END OF THIS
AFFIDAVIT THEY TALK ABOUT THE
REQUEST RESEALING, STEALING
THIS DOCUMENT AT THE TIME WAS
NECESSARY BECAUSE THE ITEMS IF
INFORMATION SEES ARE RELEVANT
TO THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION.
THEY ALSO THINK, QUOTE, THE
PREMATURE DISCLOSURE OF THE
CONTENTS OF THIS AFFIDAVIT AND
RELATED DOCUMENTS MAY HAVE A
SIGNIFICANT AND NEGATIVE IMPACT
ON THE CONTINUING INVESTIGATION
AND SEVERELY JEOPARDIZE ITS
EFFECTIVENESS BY ALLOWING
CRIMINAL PARTIES AN OPPORTUNITY
TO FLEE, DESTROY EVIDENCE,
CHANGE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR AND
NOTIFY CRIMINAL CONFEDERATES.
WE ARE DIGGING THROUGH THIS.
A LOT OF IT IS BLACKED OUT BUT
WE DO HAVE A GENERAL IDEA OF
HOW THIS STARTED.
NEIL: LOOKING AT THE RATIONALE
OF THE FBI RAID, WHAT DO THEY
PRESENT?
AND WE ARE TOLD A LOT OF IT
CONCERNS FEARS, DOCUMENTS HE
SHOULDN’T HAVE HAD AT HIS HOME,
15 OF THESE BOXES INCLUDE A
NUMBER OF TOP-SECRET DOCUMENTS,
25 OF THEM.
DONALD TRUMP HAS SAID HE CAN
DECLASSIFY THEM AND DID AS
PRESIDENT.
DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
WHETHER THESE DOCUMENTS WERE
AMONG THOSE HE HAD
DECLASSIFIED, NOTHING TOP-SECRET HERE, NOTHING
TOP-SECRET HERE, NOTHING
UNTOWARD GOING ON HERE.
>> Reporter: INCLUDED IN THE
SEALED DOCUMENT INCREASES
THERE’S A LETTER FROM DONALD
TRUMP’S ATTORNEY EVAN OR KAREN
MAKING THE CASE TO THE DOJ BACK
IN MAY WHERE THEY ARE GOING
THROUGH THIS NEGOTIATION PERIOD
WITH THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
GETTING INFORMATION FROM THE
FORMER PRESIDENT ABOUT WHAT
DOCUMENTS MIGHT BE THERE.
IN THIS LETTER THEY MAKE THE
CASE THAT ANY ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE
CRIMINAL LIABILITY ON A
PRESIDENT OR A FORMER PRESIDENT
THAT INVOLVED HIS ACTIONS WITH
RESPECT TO DOCUMENTS MARKED
CLASSIFIED WOULD IMPLICATE
GREAT CONSTITUTIONAL SEPARATION
OF POWERS ISSUES.
THEY SAY BEYOND THAT THE
PRIMARY, STATUTE THAT GOVERNS
UNAUTHORIZED REMOVAL AND
RETENTION OF CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENT OR MATERIAL DOES NOT
APPLY TO THE PRESIDENT.
SO I WILL LEAVE THAT TO THE
LEGAL EXPERTS TO HASH THAT OUT
BUT AT LEAST THE FORMER
PRESIDENT’S TEAM OF LAWYERS
THEY DON’T THINK HE IS ENTITLED
TO FOLLOW RESTRICTIONS RELATED
TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
BECAUSE HE IS A FORMER
PRESIDENT.
STUART: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
TOP-SECRET AND THAT IS AS FAR
AS THEY ARE GOING TO GO, MAYBE
YOU KNOW BETTER THAN I WHAT
WARRANTED THIS RAID, HELPS THAT
THEY ARE TOP-SECRET BUT AS YOU
POINTED OUT, DISAGREES WITH
THAT BUT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WAS
SO TOP-SECRET OR WHAT WAS SO
ALARMING BECAUSE AS YOU POINTED
OUT THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED,
NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS
WERE FORMER PRESIDENT’S,
SEARCHED, RATED, RANSACKED BY
THE FBI SO I GUESS THEY ARE
GOING TO LEAVE OUT THE
REDACTION’S.
WE CAN TELL YOU HOW MANY
DOCUMENTS ARE IN THERE OR WHAT
THEY WERE.
>> Reporter: EXACTLY.
I WILL SAY ON THAT POINT
GLANCING AT THE WAY THEY
SPELLED OUT DEFINITIONS THEY
ARE USING THEY TALK ABOUT
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION SAYING
IT MAY BE MARKED AS NOT
RELEASABLE TO FOREIGN
NATIONALS, GOVERNMENTS, US
CITIZENS FOR INFORMATION THAT
MAY NOT BE RELEASED TO NON-US
CITIZENS WITHOUT PERMISSION OF
THE ORIGINATOR BUT IN TERMS OF
THE NITTY-GRITTY, WHAT THIS
MEANS, WHAT IT WAS, WE DON’T
HAVE THOSE DETAILS.
IT IS UNDER THIS BLACK INK WE
PRINTED OUT, WE DON’T HAVE THE
DETAILS ON THAT ASPECT OF WHAT
IS IN THESE DOCUMENTS IN 15
BOXES OR WHAT ADDITIONAL
DOCUMENTS THEY WERE ABLE TO
RETRIEVE WHEN THEY RATED
MAR-A-LAGO.
NEIL: THEY TALKED TO BOXES THAT
CONTAINED UNIQUE DOCUMENTS WITH
CLASSIFICATION MARKINGS.
SOME OF THE DOCUMENTS INCLUDE
HANDWRITTEN NOTES BY DONALD
TRUMP.
YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?
>> Reporter: I DO NOT.
TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS, I
CAN DIG INTO THAT.
NEIL: IT IS INTERESTING WHEN
ALL IS SAID AND DONE, DETAILING
WE HAD A LOT OF SUPER HIGH
INTELLIGENCE STUFF, THAT WE
WANTED TO GET OUR HANDS ON
DONALD TRUMP SHOULDN’T HAVE HAD
AT HIS HOME.
WHAT THE FRUSTRATION WILL BE,
WHAT WAS SO TOP-SECRET ABOUT
THIS, BARGING INTO THAT HOME
AND TAKING EVERYTHING YOU GOT
YOUR HANDS ON HIM ABOUT THE
OPEN QUESTION.
WE JUST DON’T KNOW THAT.
>> Reporter: WHAT IS
INTERESTING IS THERE WAS A BACK
AND FORTH BETWEEN THE NATIONAL
ARCHIVES FOR SEVERAL MONTHS
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET
THESE DOCUMENTS THEY HAD
REASONABLE SUSPICION TO BELIEVE
WERE ON THE PREMISES AT
MAR-A-LAGO BUT WHY WAS THERE
BREAKDOWN IN THOSE
NEGOTIATIONS, WHETHER THEY WAS
A LAST RESORT FOR THE FBI THAN
TO BARGE IN AND TRY TO SORT
THROUGH THAT STUFF AND GRAB IT
FOR THEMSELVES, RATHER THAN GET
IT HANDED OVER AND IMPORTANT TO
POINT OUT IT IS CLEAR THE
FORMER PRESIDENT WAS WILLING TO