"'Confidential Document Leak' Trump, Increased Possibility of Obstruction of Justice Charges"

US Intelligence Agencies to Conduct Security Risk Assessment Following Classified Document Leak

Former U.S. President Donald Trump
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the affidavit that served as the basis for the search warrant on former U.S. President Donald Trump's residence was made public, analyses suggest that the possibility of Trump facing charges of 'obstruction of justice' has increased. U.S. intelligence authorities announced that they plan to assess the national security risks arising from the leak of documents marked as classified found at Trump's residence.

According to the Associated Press and others on the 27th (local time), the FBI stated in the affidavit released by the Department of Justice the previous day that one reason for the necessity of the search was "there is probable cause to believe evidence of obstruction of justice may be found." Obstruction of justice is established when someone intentionally hides or destroys documents with the purpose of interfering with the duties of a federal agency or department. In such cases, the maximum imprisonment can be 20 years, which The New York Times (NYT) explained is twice as severe as the espionage charges, the main allegation for the search of Trump's residence.

Julie O'Sullivan, a law professor at Georgetown University, told the NYT, "Former President Trump seems to consider whether the documents are top secret or not as important," adding, "The problem is that he also admits to possessing those documents himself." She further stated, "If he knowingly did not return the documents, then that constitutes obstruction of their return." Trump claims that the classified documents found at his home were already declassified during his presidency, but obstruction of justice charges are unrelated to whether the documents are classified or not.

However, much of the affidavit released this time has been heavily redacted for the purpose of protecting investigative information, so it is unclear whether Trump or his associates actually obstructed the government's efforts to retrieve the documents. The NYT reported that, based on the developments so far, it is clear that the government's efforts to recover the documents were obstructed. This includes instances where Trump's side repeatedly refused to return documents or claimed all had been returned, yet additional documents were found during the subsequent search of his residence.

Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence authorities are reported by Bloomberg and others to be planning to assess the national security risks resulting from the leak of documents marked as classified found at Trump's residence. The FBI secured 11 classified documents during the search of Trump's residence on the 8th. Additionally, in January, the National Archives secured 184 classified documents from 15 boxes of materials obtained from Trump's residence.

Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), wrote in a letter sent the previous day to House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney and House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff, "The DNI will lead the assessment of the potential risks to national security posed by the disclosure of the relevant documents," adding, "The Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are cooperating to expedite the review of the classification of the relevant documents, including those obtained during the search." She continued, "This assessment will be conducted in a manner that does not interfere with the ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.