The Washington PostThe Washington Post

Material on foreign nation's nuclear capabilities seized at Trump's Mar-a-Lago

By Devlin Barrett and Carol D. Leonnig

07 Sep 2022 · 6 min read

Editor's Note

Defense documents that only high-level authorities can keep in secure locations, were found in the raid. A special master has to examine the seized documents before they're used as evidence in court.

A document describing a foreign government's military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property.

Some of the seized documents detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them. Only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet level official could authorize other government officials to know details of these special access programs, according to people familiar with the search, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive details of an ongoing investigation.

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