Former President Donald Trump stashed multiple boxes of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence, and they were kept after he left office.
The boxes were kept in several places throughout the residence, which have been detailed in a new indictment unsealed by the Department of Justice on Friday. The full breakdown of where the documents were kept is as follows:
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY: BIG TENT OR BIG TOP?
The Mar-a-Lago Club’s White and Gold Ballroom
In January 2021, some of Trump's boxes were stored in the White and Gold Ballroom of Trump's residence, where some events and gatherings were held. For a time, the boxes were stacked on the ballroom's stage.
A business center at the Mar-a-Lago club
Some of the boxes were moved out of the ballroom in March 2021 and were then taken to the business center at the residence.
A bathroom and shower in Mar-a-Lago's Lake Room
In April 2021, some of the boxes were moved over to a bathroom and shower room at Mar-a-Lago's Lake Room, as depicted in the photo below.
A storage room on the ground floor of Mar-a-Lago
A month later, Trump directed that a storage room on the ground floor of Mar-a-Lago be cleaned out so that it could be used to store the boxes. The hallway leading to this room could be reached from multiple outside entrances of the residence, including one accessible from Mar-a-Lago's pool patio through a doorway that was often kept open.
There were more than 80 boxes in this storage room.
The indictment of Trump comes after the FBI raided his residence in August of last year. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday, asking for all of the documents and communications relating to the FBI's investigation prior to the search, the execution of the search warrant to conduct the raid, and a potential search of Trump's residence.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump was indicted on 37 counts based on charges related to the alleged obstruction and mishandling of classified documents, according to the unsealed document from the Justice Department. The indictment poses further trouble for Trump, who was already indicted in April and is attempting a third run for the White House in the 2024 election.
White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton faced multiple questions on Trump's indictment during a Friday flight to North Carolina but repeatedly declined to offer any comment, directing the press to the Justice Department, "which runs its criminal investigations independently."