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Former US Attorney General William Barr
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JOSHUA ROBERTS / REUTERS
For Donald Trump, the top-secret documents that he took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate are not only further damage to his image, but may also be relevant under criminal law.
The ex-president and his lawyers have been fighting the federal authorities and the Justice Department since the FBI conducted searches.
The first Republicans are turning away from Trump ahead of the midterm elections in November – and now so is the Attorney General of his former administration: Republican William Barr.
In an interview with The New York Times, Barr defended the FBI and Justice Department, saying the documents seized in the searches appeared to confirm the Department's concerns about a national security risk.
"As more information becomes public, the Department's actions become more understandable," Barr told the newspaper.
Barr resigned as Attorney General at the end of 2020, before Trump's presidency officially ended.
This was preceded by tensions between the long-time companions.
Critics saw the fact that Barr, as one of the most loyal followers of the then president, was an attempt to save his own political career.
For Trump, the affair over the secret documents could burden possible plans for a renewed presidential candidacy in 2024.
To prevent this, his lawyers called for a "special master" to independently examine the confiscated documents from Mar-a-Lago.
"I think that's big bullshit," Barr said.
"I don't think a special master is required."
Classified information in the »Country Club«
Barr had previously told Fox television that the raid on the ex-president's mansion was "unprecedented."
"Well, it's also unprecedented for a president to take all this classified information to a country club."
On Friday, a US court published a list of the confiscated documents.
Accordingly, the FBI agents also found dozens of empty folders labeled "classified information."
It also found more than 11,000 documents not classified as secret or confidential, which Trump says he can keep - even though they officially belong to the US National Archives.
The incumbent Attorney General, Democrat Merric Garland, must decide whether charges will be brought against Trump in the case.
Three criminal offenses were named in the search warrant, including a violation of the Espionage Act.
Barr told The New York Times that Garland needed to think carefully about the implications of such a precedent for the country.
hba/AFP
