A new investigation published by The New York Times outlines how it appears that classified documents were stored at the southern Florida Trump resort Mar-a-Lago in areas sometimes easily accessible to guests
The resort has been the site for dozens of sometimes large political and cultural events since Trump left office, including a series of fundraisers for Republican candidates for office like Herschel Walker in Georgia and Mark Finchem in Arizona, both of whom lost. The Times produced a 3-D model of much of Mar-a-Lago, and based on what the publication could ascertain from building plans obtained from the city of Palm Beach and numerous photos of events taking place at the resort, it seems clear many of these materials could have been quite vulnerable. A storage area that has repeatedly come up in conversations of the government’s push to reclaim classified records from Trump is accessible through exterior doors on both sides of a large arc in one of the resort’s buildings — and in some of the photos taken at events there, at least one set of these doors can be seen open in the background.
There’s another hall inside the building through which those venturing to the storage area must travel, but with those exterior doors open, that’s one hurdle eliminated! In the immediate vicinity of these doors is a pool and an outdoor area outside one of the resort’s ballrooms that is used for events. A fundraiser for Finchem used space outside that ballroom in close proximity to the doors leading to the storage area that once housed classified materials, as did an event put on by Matt Gaetz. An awning in that outdoor gathering area is about 60 feet from the doors.
Elsewhere, docs identified by the government as classified were also found in a Trump office that sits above a different ballroom. In other pics from events at the property, an interior set of stairs leading from the ballroom to Trump’s office seemingly isn’t blocked off. (In at least one photo, there is a velvet rope across the walkway.) Trump has hosted a long list of Republicans generally in support of him at the resort since leaving office. What could they and their associates have seen? The government’s probe is continuing.
