Furore as Obama-era memo suggests Feds may have had copies of documents seized in Trump's Mar-a-Lago raid

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: A recently uncovered Department of Defense memo from the Barack Obama administration implies that the federal government might have possessed original copies of the documents found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in 2022.

This raises serious concerns about the reason behind the raid.

America First Legal (AFL), a conservative legal organization, published a document on Thursday, May 23, that purports to be a recently discovered Department of Defense memo from the Obama administration, "confirming the government may have already had originals of the alleged classified documents involved in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s sham prosecution against President Trump".

Barack Obama forms PITC to prevent information breach

The document, known as the Memorandum of Understanding Entered into by Presidential Information Technology Community Entities, dates back to 2015. It was a response to the Russian breach of the Executive Office of the President's network in October 2014.

Subsequently, then-President Barack Obama initiated the formation of the Presidential Information Technology Community (PITC) to enhance the executive branch's defenses against such incursions, as reported by Fox News Digital.

The PITC, comprising members from key federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, was set up to ensure presidential control over the information disseminated through the PITC network.

The executive action was disclosed previously.

However, AFL secured a previously undisclosed memo affirming that the Department of Defense has been "operating and maintaining the information resources and information systems provided to the President, Vice President and Executive Office of the President."

What does the memorandum suggest?

The memorandum suggests that the federal government has preserved and kept custody of documents from the Executive Office of the President, which includes "a substantial amount, if not all, of President Trump’s classified documents."

"What America First Legal has uncovered after months of investigative work paints an unfortunate picture of the rule of law in Washington," America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein said.

He added, "A former President of the United States — the most democratically accountable officer under our Constitution — was subject to a politicized referral concocted by the Biden White House that led to an armed FBI raid of his home, where his wife and youngest child live and is now subject to prosecution."

"And to now realize that the Biden Administration could have avoided an illegal referral process to recover records the government already possessed, that it could have used normal means to ensure that records the former president believed should be housed in his presidential library (not yet built because of the hordes of investigations aimed at silencing him) were subject to a temporary hold for purposes of Archives’ review — yet didn’t — speaks loudly to America: the law protects only those who follow the norms of one party," Epstein added.

FBI agents confiscated 33 boxes of documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

America First Legal (AFL) acquired the documents through litigation against the Department of Defense, according to the press release. The Department of Defense informed Fox News Digital on Thursday that it has "nothing to offer" regarding inquiries about the memo.

The White House and the Department of Justice have not promptly replied to requests for comments.

In August 2022, FBI agents confiscated 33 boxes of documents from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, leading to another legal confrontation that Trump has denounced as a "scam".

The probe is conducted by special prosecutor Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has indicted Trump on 40 felony charges.

These charges include alleged violations of the Espionage Act, providing false statements to investigators, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The FBI informed a judge that there was "probable cause to believe" classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were not stored properly and that "evidence of obstruction" would be discovered.

Trump has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and has denounced the case as an "Election Inference Scam" promoted by the Biden administration and "Deranged Jack Smith."

Memo questions rationale behind Mar-a-Lago raid

The disclosure of the memo on Thursday does not exonerate Trump from potential misconduct in the case; however, it seems to question the original rationale for the raid.

This document is the most recent in a series of disclosures that cast doubt on the government's conduct and intentions prior to the raid.

Judge Aileen Cannon has recently made public over 300 pages of evidence, including emails and discussions concerning the Biden administration's dealings with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the year preceding the seizure of documents from Trump's residence, as reported by Real Clear Investigations.

Although Biden has stated he was not involved in the matter, the records indicate that other White House officials participated in the initial phases of the inquiry.

Cannon's unredacted documents revealed that after Trump's 2021 departure, the White House Office of Records Management collaborated with NARA on what were described as "exaggerated claims concerning records handling" under the Presidential Records Act, as stated by Trump's attorney in a legal motion seeking discovery.

In May 2021, the Archives' general counsel inquired with Trump's representatives about the location of approximately two dozen boxes of original Presidential records that had not yet been transferred to NARA.

Were documents found at Mar-a-Lago already preserved?

The general counsel noted having multiple discussions with officials from the White House Office of Records Management about their "concerns" over Trump's retention of the documents, as reported by Real Clear Investigations.

The Archives' insistence on Trump handing over the records seems partly due to NARA's mission to "properly" preserve "a complete set of Presidential records," as stated on February 7, 2022.

However, if the government already had access to the documents via the Obama-era program, then the documents would presumably be preserved already.

The case was scheduled for trial on May 20, but it has been postponed until Judge Cannon sets a new date. This week, Cannon conducted hearings to consider the defense team's motion for dismissal.

Internet reacts to AFL's bombshell disclosure

As soon as the news went viral on social media, users started slamming the Biden administration.

One wrote, "How unbelievably criminal and inept the O'Biden cabal is."

Another user slammed, "Democrats are corrupt and brutal."

One wrote, "AG Garland knew about this and still authorized a deadly force raid on Mar-A-Lago?!?!!"

"Is this current crop of democrats (last decade or so) the most evil, corrupt and unconstitutional we have ever seen?" another person concluded.

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