US House panel probes Trump's handling of classified documents

A US House panel is probing former President Donald Trump's handling of White House documents with some reports that Trump might have ripped up some classified documents.

Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter on Friday to the national archivist following the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)’s statement that Trump had classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to The New York Times.

The report also accused Trump of ripping up some classified documents.

Maloney said that the committee wanted to know about the contents of the classified documents Trump took to his private resort.

She said the panel seeks information on the level of classification of the documents that Trump destroyed.

The Times report said the House panel is seeking access to Trump’s communications related to record-keeping and the Presidential Records Act along with results of federal investigations into the documents.

“The American people deserve to know the extent of what former President Trump did to hide and destroy federal records and make sure these abuses do not happen again,” Maloney said.

Documents “relating to White House employees or contractors finding paper in a toilet in the White House, including the White House residence” are also being sought by the panel.

The National Archives had requested the Department of Justice to investigate Trump's handling of White House records.

The National Archives had alleged that it received documents from the Trump administration that had been torn apart and taped back together.

Trump, however, has denied any wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents.

 “The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis, which is different from the accounts being drawn up by the Fake News Media. In fact, it was viewed as routine and ‘no big deal,’” he said following the discovery of documents in Mar-a-Lago.

“Also, another fake story, that I flushed papers and documents down a White House toilet, is categorically untrue and simply made up by a reporter in order to get publicity for a mostly fictitious book,” he added.

Possible classified material found in Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort: Report

The possible classified material was discovered among more than a dozen boxes of presidential records from Trump

The Washington Post also published a report earlier this month claiming that numerous White House record boxes had been recovered by the National Archives in January from Mar-a-Lago. Among the materials were communication, gifts, and letters from world leaders.

Storing the presidential documents at Mar-a-Lago is a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act, which has been common in other recent presidential administrations as well.

However, transferring the documents to the Florida report was "out of the ordinary."

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