Haines says intelligence officials to assess national security risks from Mar-a-Lago documents: reports

Intelligence officials in the Biden administration will review the national security risk posed by top-secret documents held at the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Trump.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines sent a letter to two Democratic representatives on Friday, obtained by Politico, noting that intelligence would assess the risk resulting from potential disclosure of the classified information in the documents.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search,” wrote Haines to House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

The letter was written shortly after the release of a redacted version of the search affidavit filed by the FBI before officers raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

The affidavit stated that reports indicated there could be “evidence of obstruction” at Mar-a-Lago, justifying a search for the documents.

Haines told Maloney and Schiff that intelligence officials’ assessment of national security risk would not “unduly interfere with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation.”

“We are pleased that in response to our inquiry, Director Haines has confirmed that the Intelligence Community and Department of Justice are assessing the damage caused by the improper storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” the two lawmakers told Politico on Saturday.

“It is critical that the IC move swiftly to assess and, if necessary, to mitigate the damage done — a process that should proceed in parallel with DOJ’s criminal investigation.”