Trump didn't trust the Pentagon's method for disposing of classified documents and kept unread files in a cardboard box near his desk: New York Times

• Trump had a cardboard box next to his desk where he kept unread documents, per the New York Times.
• While details of the box's contents remain unclear, Trump would travel with it, per The Times.

During his time in office, former President Donald Trump kept a cardboard box near his desk in which he stored documents that he had yet to read, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The Times spoke to former Trump administration officials and staffers who gave some insight into how he handled documents.

According to the outlet, Trump had mistrusted burn bags, which were the designated means by which the Pentagon and the CIA disposed of top-secret documents.

Per the unnamed former officials that spoke to the Times, Trump didn't believe the material would be destroyed. Instead, he resorted to tearing up documents — including those with his handwriting on them — and tossing them into the toilet.

The Times also reported that Trump would place unread briefing books and other files in a cardboard box near his desk. Per the outlet, this box would get taken away when it was full and was brought with Trump aboard Air Force One when he traveled.

While the officials didn't recall seeing top-secret documents going into the box, they told The Times that there was a fair amount of chaos behind the scenes in the last days of the Trump administration.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, also told The Times that Trump would occasionally remark about how something was interesting and ask to keep it.

"For Trump, every time you ask for something back, it implies you don't trust him," Bolton told The Times, adding that staffers would not always succeed in trying to get something back from Trump.

A representative at Trump's post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

The FBI is investigating whether Trump broke three federal laws, including the Espionage Act, by keeping classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. While executing a search warrant on the property earlier this month, agents seized 11 sets of classified documents. Per The Washington Post, some of the documents were marked top secret and concerned nuclear weapons.