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Fresh details about how some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets were handled at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate have appalled national security experts, who warn the scenario presents serious security risks.  

The episode left observers shocked by how sensitive documents were shuffled and stored across the property, even after court filings last year revealed Trump had more than 300 classified records in the Florida home.  

Trump’s indictment last week detailed how the documents were at one point kept on the stage of a ballroom, while at other times, the files were stacked high in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom.  

“I knew it was going to be bad, but I literally felt sick to my stomach after reading it,” said Larry Pfeiffer, who served as senior director of the White House situation room and chief of staff at the CIA over his career. 

“As a guy who’s spent 32 years working to create and produce this intelligence for our national policymakers, it was nauseating to see somebody who served as our commander in chief, as our president, treat this material so recklessly,” he added. “Seeing the photographs of boxes on ballroom stages and in bathrooms next to a toilet and spilled out on the floor because of his carelessness just made me sick.” 

A high-level inventory of the 31 documents the Justice Department is using in the case — just a fraction of those stored at the property — revealed their classification level while offering details about their subject matter and how the information was collected.  Trump indicted on 37 counts in Mar-a-Lago case

The documents include signals intelligence, like intercepted communications or other data, as well as from human sources. Some of the documents contain information about U.S. nuclear programs or military capabilities. Others offer insight into foreign governments, including their military plans. 

“That is something that is always alarming to see having made its way outside of a SCIF,” said Tess Bridgeman, who worked as deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council (NSC) in the Obama administration, using an abbreviation for sensitive compartmented information facility. 

“When you look at some of the portion markings indicating sensitive signals intelligence and even more so sensitive human intelligence, it’s not just indicating what we know are secrets that are very closely guarded but also how we know it, which raises the concern that it’s not just the information that could be compromised, it’s also sources and methods that could be compromised,” Bridgeman continued.  An aerial view of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is seen in 2022 in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Some of the documents in the trove appear to be special access programs documents, experts said, given the redactions over what are likely the code words required to access them. 

“These documents, as I think we feared last year, appear to be what you would expect the president to have, which is some of the most sensitive intelligence or, in some cases, military planning documents that exist,” Pfeiffer said.  

“Some of the documents where even the code words are redacted — that’s some pretty sensitive stuff. That is more than likely Special Access Programs that are run by the Pentagon, which, when I was chief of staff of CIA, I didn’t even have access to,” he said. “I mean, that’s some very sensitive, sensitive stuff. So just having this material that would normally be inside locked safes with limited access, inside SCIFs, inside fortified facilities, and here he’s got them stacked up in his shower at Mar-a-Lago — it’s just crazy.” 

Some former national security officials said the manner in which the documents were kept was representative of Trump’s broader patterns with national security information while president.  

“I found the indictment to be a really vivid picture for the American public of what the national security community dealt with for four years when he was president. He had a blatant disregard, just did not care to follow the rules,” said Elizabeth Neumann, Trump’s assistant secretary for counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security, during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”  

But many Republicans have minimized Trump’s handling of the documents at Mar-a-Lago.  Trump indictment fuels GOP anger over DOJ ‘weaponization’

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sought to contrast the episode with the discovery of some classified documents on President Biden’s property, including in his garage, from his tenure as vice president. 

McCarthy said while a garage door “opens up all the time,” Trump’s handling of the documents was different because “a bathroom door locks.” 

But experts said that is cold comfort given that Mar-a-Lago has long been a target of foreign intelligence outfits, many of which are sophisticated enough to breach a hotel and golf club consistently hosting visitors.  

“I guarantee that any foreign intelligence service worth its weight is going to be able to get in and out of a Florida resort hotel and access materials, and you’re never going to know they were ever there. Some people say, ‘Oh, they got cameras.’ Hey, you know, having a camera isn’t going to stop somebody who really knows what they’re doing from getting in and out of a place either,” Pfeiffer said.  

A Chinese businesswoman was convicted for trespassing and lying to authorities after pushing her way into Mar-a-Lago while Trump was in office. She was carrying a Faraday bag that blocks electromagnetic signals and multiple cellphones, and a device was found in her hotel room that helps detect hidden cameras.  

“So I’m hoping and praying that nobody accessed that material,” Pfeiffer said. “But I am sure there are people inside the intelligence community who were sweating bullets trying to figure out what possibly could have been compromised and what measures maybe need to be taken, or I’m guessing by now have been taken, to mitigate any losses.” 

The intelligence community began conducting a damage assessment of the impact of the handling of the documents shortly after the search at Mar-a-Lago. 

“Once you know it’s plausible that something was compromised, a decision has to be made essentially whether to treat it as already compromised, whether to cut off those streams of information to protect sources and methods, whether to consider military plans to have been disclosed. So those things I think should not be taken lightly, even if we don’t know for sure that they were disseminated,” Bridgeman said.   Former President Donald Trump greets supporters as he visits the Versailles restaurant June 13 in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Pfeiffer said it’s possible some sources as a result were even exfiltrated — removed from their location for safety reasons but otherwise cutting off a stream of intelligence.

Some of the markings on the documents indicate they may have been shared with the U.S. by allies, including close working partners like the Five Eyes, which includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, in addition to the U.S. 

“That is one of the concerns here, that there could be compromised information that didn’t originally come from the United States intelligence community, which obviously would have a chilling effect on whether people want to share with us,” Bridgeman said, a dynamic she noted that could already be underway with Trump’s announced candidacy. 

“You can imagine it might have a chilling effect on other countries’ willingness to share important information with us even now,” she said, “if we can’t guarantee that the information will be protected past 2024.”  

Trump was charged with 37 counts in connection with the probe, including 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act and others for obstructing justice, concealing documents and making false statements.  Espionage Act in the spotlight after Trump indictment. What is it?

As the prosecution gets underway, there remain numerous unanswered questions about the documents, including whether they’ve all been recovered and why the Justice Department chose to focus on these 31.  

Pfeiffer pointed to reporting about Trump’s referencing of a document on military planning that he admits he did not declassify, a piece of intelligence CNN reported was never found by Trump’s attorneys. 

“It’s not been made clear, in at least the public reporting, whether that document was ever retrieved or not. So it makes you wonder if there are still investigative activities going on to determine if there are more documents available or similar documents that have not been recovered,” he said. 

Attorneys have also been speculating about the rationale behind selecting the 31 documents detailed in the indictment, with the inclusion of highly classified records suggesting the Justice Department does not plan to declassify them for the trial. 

“One possibility is that these 31 documents are actually the tip of the iceberg that are considered, despite their sensitivity, less sensitive than some others,” Bridgeman said. 

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Is this the most powerful Trump’s been?

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Is this the most powerful Trump's been?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has passed and he’s due to sign it into law on Independence Day. Mark Stone and David Blevins discuss how the bill will supercharge his presidency, despite its critics.

They also chat Gaza and Ukraine, as Donald Trump meets with freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and talks to Vladimir Putin.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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UK

Diogo Jota: Liverpool players join mourners as Premier League star and his brother Andre Silva buried in Portugal

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Diogo Jota: Liverpool players join mourners as Premier League star and his brother Andre Silva buried in Portugal

Liverpool players past and present have joined the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva for their funeral in Portugal.

A service was held in the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church in their hometown of Gondomar near Porto in northern Portugal on Saturday morning.

Mourners lined the streets and some in the crowd clapped as the brothers’ coffins were carried into the church.

The funeral – in pictures


Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk arrives on the day of the funeral ceremony of Liverpool's Portuguese soccer player Diogo Jota and his b
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Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk. Pic: Reuters

Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo (right) arrive at the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva
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Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo (right) arrive at the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. Pic: PA

Jota, 28, leaves behind his wife of only 11 days, Rute Cardoso, and three young children.

His younger brother, 25, was an attacking midfielder for Penafiel in the second tier of Portuguese football.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot, captain Virgil Van Dijk and teammates including Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez were seen at the service.

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Former teammates Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho were also there.

Van Dijk carried a red wreath with Jota’s number 20, while Robertson had a wreath featuring number 30, Silva’s number at Penafiel.

Diogo Jota funeral
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Manchester United and Portugal player Bruno Fernandes. Pic: PA


Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool's player Andrew Robertson arrive on the day of the funeral ceremony of Liverpool's Portug
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Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s player Andrew Robertson. Pic: Reuters

Some of Jota’s teammates in the Portuguese national side also attended, including Bruno Fernandes, of Manchester United, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, of Manchester City, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga, of Chelsea, Nelson Semedo, from Wolves, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio.

Ruben Neves was one of the pallbearers after flying in from Florida where he played for Al Hilal in the Club World Cup quarter-final on Friday night.

‘More than a friend’

In a post published on Instagram before the service, he told Jota he had been “more than a friend, we’re family, and we won’t stop being that way just because you’ve decided to sign a contract a little further away from us!”

Jota’s fellow Liverpool midfielder, Alexis Mac Allister, said on Instagram: “I can’t believe it. I’ll always remember your smiles, your anger, your intelligence, your camaraderie, and everything that made you a person. It hurts so much; we’ll miss you. Rest in peace, dear Diogo.”

Porto FC president Andre Villas-Boas and Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez were also in attendance.

‘With us forever’

Speaking after the ceremony, Martinez said the period since their deaths had been “really, really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we showed we are a large, close family.

“Their spirit will be with us forever.”

The service was private, but the words spoken by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, were broadcast to those standing outside the church.

He told Jota’s children, who were not at the service, that he was praying for them specifically, as well as their mother and grandparents.

“There are no words, but there are feelings,” he said, adding: “We also suffer a lot and we are with you emotionally.”

The brothers died after a Lamborghini they were travelling in burst into flames following a suspected tyre blowout in the early hours of Thursday morning.

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No other vehicles are said to have been involved in the incident.

Liverpool have delayed the return of their players for pre-season following Jota’s death and players past and present paid tribute to him and his brother on social media.

Flowers have been left outside Anfield, where flags have been lowered to half-mast and all club shops, museums and tours have been closed until Monday.

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Inside a Utah desert facility preparing humans for life on Mars

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Inside a Utah desert facility preparing humans for life on Mars

Hidden among the majestic canyons of the Utah desert, about 7 miles from the nearest town, is a small research facility meant to prepare humans for life on Mars.

The Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that runs the Mars Desert Research Station, or MDRS, invited CNBC to shadow one of its analog crews on a recent mission.

MDRS is the best analog astronaut environment,” said Urban Koi, who served as health and safety officer for Crew 315. “The terrain is extremely similar to the Mars terrain and the protocols, research, science and engineering that occurs here is very similar to what we would do if we were to travel to Mars.”

SpaceX CEO and Mars advocate Elon Musk has said his company can get humans to Mars as early as 2029.

The 5-person Crew 315 spent two weeks living at the research station following the same procedures that they would on Mars.

David Laude, who served as the crew’s commander, described a typical day.

“So we all gather around by 7 a.m. around a common table in the upper deck and we have breakfast,” he said. “Around 8:00 we have our first meeting of the day where we plan out the day. And then in the morning, we usually have an EVA of two or three people and usually another one in the afternoon.”

An EVA refers to extravehicular activity. In NASA speak, EVAs refer to spacewalks, when astronauts leave the pressurized space station and must wear spacesuits to survive in space.

“I think the most challenging thing about these analog missions is just getting into a rhythm. … Although here the risk is lower, on Mars performing those daily tasks are what keeps us alive,” said Michael Andrews, the engineer for Crew 315.

Watch the video to find out more.

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