Charges for misuse of classified documents are rare, but not unprecedented
New details emerge after FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by the FBI and sources told ABC News the search was related to allegations Trump improperly removed documents from the White House
Federal authorities entered uncharted territory on Monday when they raided former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in search of evidence reportedly tied to Trump's alleged mishandling of government documents, setting off renewed speculation about his potential legal exposure.
And while no precedent exists to guide a criminal probe of a former president, a small number of recent cases involving senior government officials improperly retaining classified information could serve as a roadmap for prosecutors if an ongoing FBI probe bears evidence of criminal conduct, legal experts told ABC News.
"At the end of the day, in evaluating whether to bring charges, the Justice Department would compare the facts they think they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt to the facts at issue in past cases," said David Laufman, a former Justice Department official in the national security division and current partner at Wiggin and Dana LLP.
Classified documents
The stunning FBI raid on the former president's Florida home was related to documents that Trump took with him when he departed Washington in January 2021, including some records the National Archives has said were marked classified, sources told ABC News.
In January 2022, Trump turned over 15 boxes of records to the National Archives, but a small team of federal agents followed up with Trump's lawyers in the spring to inquire about additional records he may have removed from the White House. Attorneys for Trump said they were in the process of searching for documents and had been engaged in some back-and-forth communications with federal investigators, sources told ABC News.
Other political figures have attracted scrutiny in recent years over allegations of mishandling classified information, but never faced criminal charges.
The FBI aggressively pursued allegations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had maintained emails containing classified documents on a private server during her bid for the presidency, and announced developments in the case in the month leading up to the 2016 election. Clinton never faced charges, but then-FBI Director James Comey called her conduct "extremely careless."
Trump repeatedly called for the Justice Department to prosecute Clinton over her alleged retention of classified emails during the 2016 campaign, and continued to do so after taking office. On Monday, in his statement criticizing the raid on Mar-a-Lago, Trump again lamented Clinton's lack of culpability.
"Absolutely nothing has happened to hold her accountable," Trump said.