Could Trump Face Prison Time For Allegedly Violating 'Espionage Act?'
The FBI search warrant of former President Donald Trump's Florida home authorized confiscation of every record he ever saw, read or created during his four years as commander-in-chief, right down to scribbles on a napkin.
Democrats are asking for a damage assessment from the intelligence community on the 11 sets of classified documents recovered in the raid, including one marked "SCI", a classification for some of the most sensitive national security information that is normally viewed in a highly secured location.
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A lawyer for Trump signed a statement in June after a visit by the FBI saying that all classified documents at Mar-a-Lago had been turned over to federal investigators.
"Some of those documents were marked top secret, sensitive compartmented information," U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said. "That is among the highest designation in terms of the extremely grave damage to national security that could be done if it was disclosed."
The warrant also shows agents were looking for evidence of three potential crimes, including obstruction of justice and violations of the Espionage Act.
Violating the Espionage Act carries a sentence of 10 years in prison, while obstruction of justice could be punishable with as much as 20 years behind bars.
The former president has not been charged and claims the files were de-classified. Some Republicans are calling the investigation an abuse of power.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said, "The FBI raid of President Trump is a complete abuse and overreach of its authority. This is the same agency leadership that protected Hillary Clinton, James Comey and continues to protect Hunter Biden; the same agency leadership that perpetrated the false Russia hoax for years."
The Department of Justice also allegedly took materials that contained privileged attorney-client communications, according to Fox News.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) called on the Justice Department to release more information.
"I think releasing the affidavit would help, at the very least confirm that there was a justification for this raid."
Lawmakers from both parties are calling for calm after recent threats against law enforcement, and some armed Trump supporters protested outside a Phoenix FBI Office.
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