Trump indictment lays bare security risks of storage at Mar-a-Lago

Published

2 years ago

June 16, 2023

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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.

Entertainment

Gregg Wallace speaks out after MasterChef sacking

Published

2 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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Gregg Wallace speaks out after MasterChef sacking

Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.

Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated.

In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.

“I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I am a wrong ‘un.”

MasterChef co-host John Torode also had an allegation that he used an “extremely offensive racist term” upheld, as part of the same investigation.

Torode, who insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident, has not had his contract for the show renewed.

Wallace has now defended Torode, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.

“There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”

At one point, Wallace became tearful during the interview when describing the impact of the investigation on his family.

“I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.”

In respect to the specific allegation of unwanted touching, Wallace denied groping a woman and said that, while he was attempting to flirt with her, he did believe the contact it was consensual.

“She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl’s bum,” he said.

He also accepted he had briefly appeared with a sock on his private parts in front of four colleagues in MasterChef studio. But he said his is not a flasher, and people were either “amused or bemused” but not distressed.

On the broader allegations about using inappropriate language, Wallace accepted the criticism and suggested that some of his conduct could be explained by his autism and his background.

“I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a… registered disability. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

He also blamed his former career: “I’m a greengrocer from Peckham. I thrived in Covent Garden’s fruit and veg market. In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour.”

Wallace told the newspaper he is now scared to appear in public: “I go out now in a disguise – a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don’t want people to see me. I’m scared.”

On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed a series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will still be broadcast.

Politics

25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

Published

2 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.

It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.

MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”

The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the GHF.

In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.

The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”

Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.

‘Humanitarian catastrophe must end’

In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.

The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.

“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”

Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.

Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.

Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.

For now, Sir Keir has rejected calls to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and recognise a Palestinian state – despite more than 220 MPs signing a cross-party letter to demand he takes this step.

The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.

UK

Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Published

2 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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'Immigration is killing Europe': Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Donald Trump has landed in Scotland for a four-day trip including high-level meetings – praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that is “killing Europe”.

Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.

Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”

The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.

Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.

“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.

“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.

During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US.

Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.

EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.

The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.

“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.

“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe.”

He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across the continent.

“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he said. “It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.”

Domestically, Mr Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One.

“You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.

Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.

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While the president’s visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK.

The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.

About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Mr Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.

Mr Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.

He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.