Former President Donald Trump is asking to have a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) reestablished at his home at the Mar-A-Lago resort so that he can discuss with his lawyers classified information involved in the court case he’s battling.
Prosecutors with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges, have previously scoffed at President Trump’s request, calling it “extraordinary,” particularly given that the case involves allegations that President Trump illegally kept national defense information, including documents marked as classified, at Mar-a-Lago.
President Trump’s lawyers, however, believe that in the case of a former president, there are good reasons for accommodating his request.
Todd Blanche, a lawyer for President Trump, explained in an Aug. 9 court filing that President Trump used to have a SCIF set up at his residence during his term where he was “permitted to review and discuss classified information” and that “reestablishing this secure facility is readily possible if the Court so directs.”
“Furthermore, the government can re-establish a restricted area within the proposed secure location in which President Trump and his legal team can discuss classified information in a manner that is consistent with government security protocols.”
Due to the distances, each trip would probably extend overnight, Mr. Blanche said, explaining that when President Trump visits a location, his Secret Service detail comes with him and “the required security measures take significant planning and effort, as well as financial resources,” especially if the public learns about the visit beforehand.
“The public facility and surrounding area may need to be closed to the public for a significant period of time to ensure the safety of everyone, including President Trump,” he said.
Reestablishing the SCIF at President Trump’s home would be “a more efficient use of government resources,” the lawyers argued.
They also criticized the prosecutors for “cavalierly, and falsely” suggesting to the court that President Trump meant to discuss classified information “in his office at Mar-a-Lago” or “an unsecure area.”
“We assure the Court that the above was never suggested by defense counsel and that we and President Trump take seriously the rules surrounding the handling and discussion of classified materials,” the filing said.
“The government knows full well from our request and related conversations that defense counsel and President Trump will not discuss information the government deems classified outside of approved facilities where such information is authorized to be discussed.”
The case was brought by Mr. Smith on June 9, charging 38 counts of willful retention of national defense information, obstruction, and making false statements.
It alleges that President Trump illegally “caused” boxes with some defense-related information in them to be moved to his home when leaving office and that he later directed his aide, Waltine Nauta, to move some of the boxes so they couldn’t be searched for documents that the Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoenaed in 2022.
Mr. Smith added three more charges on July 27, alleging that President Trump asked his property manager at Mar-a-Lago, Carlos de Oliveira, to have security camera footage deleted after the DOJ subpoenaed some of the footage in June 2022.
President Trump has stressed that no footage was deleted and denied making any such request.
The presiding district judge, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has set that trial for May 2024.
President Trump also faces several charges, brought by Mr. Smith in the District of Columbia, related to his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election. President Trump’s team says his efforts were to contest through legal means the results of the 2020 election. Another set of charges, for alleged falsifying of business records, was brought earlier this year by New York state prosecutor in Manhattan.
President Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, calling them an effort to interfere with his 2024 run for president.
Yet more charges are expected to come from a district attorney in Georgia, also related to President Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election.
