Despite Mar-a-Lago Search Feds Say Trump Still Has Documents: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — An official with the U.S. Department of Justice told former President Donald Trump's lawyers the agency believes Trump hasn't returned all documents following a search of his Florida estate in August, according to a New York Times report.

The conversation indicates investigators are skeptical Trump is fully cooperating with federal officials to return top-secret, classified, and other documents he removed from the White House at the end of his term, the Times reported.

It's unclear what steps the Department of Justice may take to recover additional documents, and if officials have gathered additional evidence to support their suspicions.

Related:

• Mar-a-Lago Raided: Why FBI Agents Searched Trump's FL Estate
• DOJ Seeks To Unseal Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant
• Trump Probed Over Possible Violation Of Espionage Act: Warrant
• Judge Commits To Releasing Redacted Mar-a-Lago Search Affidavit

In August, the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and recovered 20 boxes of items from the property, including a dozen sets of classified documents and materials that were labeled top secret. The FBI said it seized roughly 11,000 documents, including about 100 with classification markings, during its search.

According to previous reports, the search was related to a records probe that started in January when the National Archives and Records Administration removed more than a dozen boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago after the agency claimed they were removed from the White House in violation of the Presidential Records Act.

A judge later unsealed the search warrant, which showed the former president is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice and potential violations of the Espionage Act.

Earlier this week, Trump's lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in the case, escalating a dispute over the powers of an independent arbiter appointed to inspect the records.

The Trump team asked the justices to overturn a lower court ruling and allow the arbiter, called a special master, to review the documents. A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last month limited the special master's review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents.

The judges, including two Trump appointees, sided with the Justice Department, which had argued there was no legal basis for the special master to conduct his own review of the classified records.

Meanwhile, Trump's lawyers told the Supreme Court it was essential for the special master to have access to the classified records to "determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or Presidential records."

The Department of Justice previously indicated that federal officials believed Trump has more documents in his possession. According to the Times, authorities found dozens of empty folders at Mar-a-Lago marked as containing classified information, leading them to believe investigators may not have recovered all documents.

The Department of Justice also said in court filings that a judge’s decision to bar authorities from having access to documents seized in August would limit their ability to determine if any documents were missing, according to the Times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.