According to legal filings unsealed on Monday, an anonymous associate (referred to as “Person 16”) informed the FBI that they had learned Trump failed to return presidential records to the National Archives after leaving office. “Person 16” claimed that multiple individuals had attempted to persuade Trump to return the documents.
In November 2021, before the FBI’s August 2022 search or Trump’s June 2023 indictment, the associate advised Trump to “give everything back” and avoid providing prosecutors with a valid reason for indictment. However, Trump’s response was described as “weird.”
The associate could not confirm whether the boxes were intentionally kept by Trump but acknowledged that only 15 of the 50 boxes of documents had been returned to the National Archive. They speculated that a decision was made not to return all of them. “Person 16” also suggested that one of Trump’s children was approached to persuade him to return the documents.
To avoid potential repercussions within “the Trump world,” the associate requested that their interview with FBI agents not be recorded. Representatives for Trump have not yet responded to Forbes’ request for comment.
The unsealed filings also revealed that the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents was codenamed “Plasmic Echo.”
Federal prosecutors have charged Trump with illegally retaining sensitive documents at Mar-A-Lago and obstructing an investigation into their whereabouts. Despite being repeatedly requested to return all classified documents and being subpoenaed, Trump allegedly disregarded these demands. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
Trump’s attempts to dismiss the case based on presidential immunity and protection under the Presidential Records Act have been unsuccessful, although the Supreme Court is reviewing his immunity argument in a separate criminal case related to the 2020 election. The trial date for the classified documents case has yet to be determined. The initial May trial date now seems unlikely, with proceedings potentially being postponed until after the November election. Trump is currently facing a separate trial in New York, where he is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to reimburse his fixer for hush money.
