- The DOJ seized more than 700 pages of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago in January.
- The documents were found in 15 boxes, according to a letter by the National Archives.
Former President Donald Trump took more than 700 pages of classified documents from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, according to a letter from the National Archives and Records Administration.
In a letter, dated May 10, Debra Steidel Wall, the acting archivist, said that the documents were kept in 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration obtained in January. Some documents were marked as "special access program materials," Wall added.
The letter was publicly released on Tuesday — a day after conservative journalist John Solomon posted a copy of it on his website. The letter was written to Trump's attorney Evan Corcoran. Corcoran did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment.
The letter highlighted the back and forth communication between Trump's legal counsel and the National Archives, and the federal agency's growing concern over how the handling of these documents could damage US national security.
"As the Department of Justice's National Security Division explained to you on April 29, 2022: There are important national security interests in the FBI and others in the Intelligence Community getting access to these materials. According to NARA, among the materials in the boxes are over 100 documents with classification markings, comprising more than 700 pages," Wall wrote.
The letter revealed that last April, the Justice Department wanted to conduct a damage assessment of the handling of the documents but was refrained from getting access to the classified material by Trump's legal counsel.
Wall said in the letter that President Joe Biden has also deferred all decisions on Trump handling these classified documents and concerns over executive privilege claims from Trump directly to the Justice Department.
Monday's development comes on the heels of an unprecedented FBI raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, during which the Justice Department retrieved 11 sets of classified documents. Last February, National Archives confirmed to The Washington Post that Trump took several boxes of classified documents with him when he left the Oval Office instead of turning them over to the agency.
NARA did not respond to Insider's request to comment on the matter.