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Former President Donald Trump faces lengthy prison terms on multiple counts if charged and convicted under the Espionage Act following the recovery of “top secret” documents and “sensitive compartmented information” from his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate by FBI agents on Monday.
What classified documents did FBI agents seize from Trump's Mar-a-Lago?
FBI agents
found 11 sets of classified documents among 20 boxes as well as one labeled “various
classified/TS/SCI documents,” meaning top secret/sensitive compartmentalized
information, according to The Hill. Others include binders full of photos,
handwritten notes and the executive grant of clemency which Trump gave to his
ally Roger Stone.
Some of the
seized documents include some marked top secret as well as “sensitive
compartmented information,” according to The Associated Press. Sensitive
compartmented information is a special category meant to protect the nation’s
most important secrets that could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to U.S.
interests if made available publicly, according to The Associated Press. No
specific details were made about documents by the court records.
Did Trump violate The Espionage Act?
The warrant says federal agents were investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, governing gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act and another statute that addresses concealment, mutilation or removal of records, according to The Associated Press. The third statute addresses the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.
Following the unsealing of the documents, the agency believes Trump may have violated the Espionage Act of 1917, among other potential crimes.
Officials
took three items labeled “confidential,” three labeled “secret” and four
labeled “top secret,” according to The Hill.
What is the Espionage Act?
The
Espionage Act makes it illegal for anyone who has information related to
national defense to use it “to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage
of any foreign nation,” The Hill reports
It is
illegal for anyone who lawfully has possession of information related to
national security to provide it or attempt to provide it to those not permitted
to obtain it under the Espionage Act. These individuals also cannot “willfully”
retain and fail to deliver documents or other materials on demand to an officer
of the United States who is allowed to receive them, according to The Hill.
Who signed the Espionage Act and what year?
Former
President Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law a few months after the
United States entered World War I in 1917, according to The Hill. The law was passed to
prevent interference with the war effort or recruiting soldiers and to prevent
Americans from supporting the country’s enemies during wartime.
Derek
Bambauer, a law professor at the University of Arizona, told The Hill, the act
is a “core” part of national security law and was designed to allow the
government to prosecute people with sensitive information that could put the
country’s national security at risk. The professor noted that it can apply to
people who deliberately transfer the information to someone not authorized to
have it or store it in a place it should not be.
Bambauer
said whether the information or documents are classified is “wholly irrelevant”
to potential violations. He said the information only needs to be sensitive and
a threat to the security of the country. This is in sharp contrast with Trump’s
argument as well as his allies that the former president had declassified the documents
found at his home while he was still serving as president and hence there were
no legal violations.
Bambauer
said Trump may have declassified certain information while he was president but
noted that classification is not mentioned in the law.
“The
language of the law, the Espionage Act, doesn’t talk about classification at
all, which is not surprising because classification, at least as a structural
concept, didn’t exist at the time this was passed,” he said, according to The Hill.
Anyone
convicted of violating the law could face a fine or up to 10 years in prison
So what is in for Trump in the Espionage Act?
1. Espionage Act — Possible fines and up
to 10 years in prison
The Search
warrant unsealed on Friday afternoon cited 18 U.S. Code 793, which is part of the
Espionage Act, that specifically refers to the “gathering, transmitting, or
losing defense information,” according to Washington Examiner.
Trump face
fines and up to 10 years in prison if charged for the violation, according to the
Espionage Act, Washington Examiner reports.
2. Concealment of documents — Possible
fines and up to three years in prison
The warrant
also made reference to 18 U.S. Code 2071 on “concealment, removal, or
mutilation generally,” according to Washington Examiner
According to
the provision, it is illegal to steal government documents and makes it a crime
for anyone to have any federal record in their possession with the intention to
conceal or destroy it.
Trump face a
fine or three years in prison if charged.
Trump could
also be disqualified from holding public office in the future if found guilty.
3. Obstruction of justice — Possible
fines and up to 20 years in prison
Trump faces possible charges related to obstruction of justice based on violations of 18 U.S. Code 1519, which deals with the “destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy,” according to Washington Examiner.
The law
criminalizes the destruction of federal records and carries a sentence of up to
20 years in prison.
Trump could
face fines of up to $5,000 including prison time.
The Espionage
Act consists of more than half a dozen provisions, each laying out different
circumstance where a violation may occur, according to The Hill.