New details emerge into FBI search on Trump — including classified documents recovered Transcript

Tom George: (00:00)
Welcome back now to the very latest on the FBI raid of former president Trump’s Florida home. Investigators now trying to track down who may have been involved in the transfer of those classified documents from the White House to Mar-A-Lago.

Marisa Yamane: (00:11)
Em Nguyen has the latest over the growing security concerns.

Em Nguyen: (00:16)
The FBI search warrant executed on former president Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, that officials say recovered several boxes of classified material, now prompting a flurry of questions on Capitol Hill. The house intelligence committee chair, Adam Schiff, along with both the Democratic and Republican heads of the same committee in the Senate, are requesting the director of national intelligence, carry out a damage assessment to see if any of the classified information was compromised.

Rep. Adam Schiff: (00:43)
That is among the highest designation in terms of the extremely grave damage to national security.

Em Nguyen: (00:50)
FBI agents say they seized 27 boxes, including 11 sets of highly classified documents, in the inventory provided to Trump, which was unsealed along with the warrant by a federal judge. Some materials were found marked Top Secret SCI, which could include information related to nuclear weapons, terrorism, or spies working on behalf of the US government.

Em Nguyen: (01:13)
Documents with this level of classification should only be viewed in a secure environment. Now, law enforcement officials are trying to track down who has seen or handled the materials that were in Trump’s home. An investigation that’s likely to include interviews with former Trump administration officials. Former FBI agent Brad Garrett says it’s highly unlikely the records were removed from the White House by mistake.

Brad Garrett: (01:36)
The idea that they were tossed into boxes, presumably, and moved to Mar-a-Lago, I mean, it’s just… it is beyond comprehension.

Em Nguyen: (01:44)
Some of the potential crimes listed in the Justice Department’s unsealed warrant, include obstruction of justice and violations of the espionage act. Despite that, many Republicans are coming to Trump’s defense.

Elise Stefanik: (01:57)
The FBI raid of president Trump is a complete abuse and overreach of its authority.

Em Nguyen: (02:02)
Trump claims, without supplying proof, that he declassified any documents before they were removed from the White House. Even so, legal experts say just the possession of the documents, regardless of their classification, could result in criminal charges. Em Nguyen, ABC News, Washington,