海角大神

What was in the leather-bound box?

That鈥檚 a question that鈥檚 been a matter of great interest in Washington since the Department of Justice revealed on Aug. 12 that the FBI had seized such a box in its search of former President Donald Trump鈥檚 Mar-a-Lago home.

Now we may have a partial answer. Last night federal prosecutors attached an intriguing photo to a new court filing 鈥� a stack of documents marked 鈥淪ecret鈥� and 鈥淭op Secret鈥� laid on a rug. They came from a container in Mr. Trump鈥檚 office, said the filing.

The papers are identified as 鈥淓xhibit 2A.鈥� This suggests they were in the leather box, which is labeled 鈥淓xhibit 2.鈥� The fancy box鈥檚 purpose remains undisclosed.

The papers 鈥� whether they were nestled in the box or not 鈥� are a visual symbol of the troubles facing Mr. Trump.听

According to the FBI, they remained in the former president鈥檚 workspace long after the Department of Justice had issued a subpoena requesting return of all papers marked classified 鈥� and months after Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers attested he had done so.

It is possible they weren鈥檛 returned due to chaotic record keeping, or some administrative mistake. That鈥檚 what some experts suggest.

鈥淚t is not clear from [yesterday鈥檚] filing if the FBI has evidence of intentional acts of concealment as opposed to negligence in keeping track of such material,鈥� writes George Washington University law professor .听

But point out they could also be evidence of willful possession of sensitive documents intelligence agencies want back. The Mar-a-Lago FBI search found twice as many documents with classified markings as the Trump team had previously returned. Increasingly it appears the core of a Department of Justice case on the documents could center on obstruction of justice.听

鈥淚f the FBI found these documents in your home, you would go to jail,鈥� , former director of the Office of Government Ethics, of the Exhibit 2A photo.