WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

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1/ The National Archives said it found more than 700 pages of classified material – including some labeled “Special Access Program” – in the 15 boxes recovered from Trump in January. The National Archives informed Trump’s lawyers about the discovery in a May 10 letter, and said it would provide the FBI with access to the documents in order to investigate “whether those records were handled in an unlawful manner” and “conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps.” National Archives officials spent most of 2021 trying to get the material back from Trump. His lawyers tried to argue that some of the documents were protected by executive privilege despite Biden deferring all decisions regarding executive privilege assertions to top DOJ lawyers. Two officials tasked with representing Trump to the National Archives received calls trying to facilitate the documents’ return. Trump, however, rejected their efforts, calling the boxes of classified documents “mine.” The Justice Department, meanwhile, said it has recovered more than 300 documents with classified markings from Mar-a-Lago, with each document potentially comprising multiple pages. The first set in January, a second batch was delivered in June, and the FBI seized additional material during its August search. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN)

2/ The Justice Department issued a new grand jury subpoena to the National Archives for more documents as part of its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Earlier this year, the Justice Department requested the same documents and information that had previously been shared with the Jan. 6 committee. (CNN)

3/ Elections systems data obtained by Trump’s campaign and Sidney Powell was copied and shared with election deniers, conspiracy theorists, and right-wing commentators. SullivanStrickler was hired in Nov. 2020 to access county election systems in at least three battleground states and copy software and other data. The files were put on a server and downloaded dozens of times by “accounts associated with a Texas meteorologist who has appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show; a podcaster who suggested political enemies should be executed; a former pro surfer who pushed disproven theories that the 2020 election was manipulated; and a self-described former ‘seduction and pickup coach’ who claims to also have been a hacker.” (Washington Post)...

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