The central reason that Donald Trump was indicted for retaining documents marked as classified but President Biden was not is that Trump tried to retain the documents once the government sought their return. This is not a matter of opinion; it is, instead, the distinction drawn by special counsel Robert K. Hur when he declined to seek charges against Biden. Trump was known to have documents and tried to keep them. Hence the indictment.
Washington
Analysis | There’s new reason to think Trump still has classified documents
On Monday afternoon, CNN published an interview with a former Mar-a-Lago employee that bolsters one of the lingering possibilities surrounding Trump’s action: that he may still have documents at one of his other properties.
You will recall that the FBI’s 2022 search for documents was limited to Trump’s Palm Beach estate. The FBI gathered scores of documents from a storage room near the pool and from Trump’s personal office.
It was the third tranche of documents the government had recovered.
After grudgingly leaving the White House in January 2021, Trump moved to Mar-a-Lago, bringing with him a number of documents and mementos that he helped pack up. He also oversaw the return of a number of boxes of material to the National Archives, allegedly returning 15 of more than 70 boxes he’d brought to Mar-a-Lago.
The Archives found material marked as classified among the contents of the boxes and alerted the Justice Department. This led to the issuance of a federal subpoena for any material marked as classified. In early June 2022, attorneys working for Trump handed a Justice Department official a package that they represented was the entirety of the classified or marked-as-classified documents still in Trump’s possession.
That was not true. That August, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found more than 100 more.
It has been understood for some time that the lawyers assembling the package of documents to be handed over in response to the subpoena were not given access to all of the boxes of material. Speaking to CNN, former Mar-a-Lago employee Brian Butler explained that, on the morning the Justice Department arrived to take possession of that package, he helped load boxes into Trump’s plane before the former president left for his home in Bedminster, N.J.
On June 2, the day before the Justice Department arrived, Mar-a-Lago employees including Trump’s valet Walt Nauta moved a number of boxes on the property, transporting more than two dozen to Trump’s residence before the attorneys began to search for responsive material.
Then, on June 3, Nauta reached out to Butler, who was in charge of vehicles at Mar-a-Lago.
“Walt had came up to me, and asked me if he could use one of our Escalades,” Butler told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “Since I ran the car service, I pretty much kept control over the vehicles. I had loaded a bunch of the family luggage into a minivan, and I was just going to drive it to the plane, load it up, and that’s it.”
Butler saw people he later recognized as Trump’s attorneys at Mar-a-Lago that day. The attorneys handed over the package of material and were allowed to look at the storage room where most of the material was stored. They signed a document attesting that no other material existed.
That same day, Butler headed to the airport to load the Trumps’ private plane for the flight to New Jersey. Nauta had already left, Butler told Collins, and had asked to be updated when Butler was on his way. He was waiting “at a nearby business,” Butler said.
“I texted him, hey, I’m on my way. He followed me. He pulled out and got behind me,” Butler told Collins. “We got to the airport. I ended up loading all the luggage I had. And he had a bunch of boxes.”
“You noticed that he had boxes?” Collins asked.
“Oh, yes, they were the boxes that were in the indictment,” Butler replied. “The white Bankers Boxes? That’s what I remember loading.”
Butler helped load those boxes, between 10 to 15 of them, onto the plane. He told Collins that he never saw them come back.
It is not necessarily the case that those boxes included classified material, certainly. But remember the context: This is the moment at which Trump’s attorneys were turning material over to the government that they’d plucked out of a subset of the boxes in Trump’s possession. Perhaps the movement on June 2 was simply about moving unrelated material to New Jersey when the Trumps left. Or perhaps material was transferred to Bedminster.
We know that there was probably at least one classified document at Bedminster after Trump left office: the one he had with him in 2021 when he was speaking to writers working on a book for his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. That document, mentioned by Trump in a recording that was later published by CNN, purportedly involved military plans. CBS News reported in June that the document was not among those mentioned in Trump’s later indictment. His lawyers indicated that they were unable to find any such document.
His lawyers had conducted a general search of Bedminster for any classified material in December 2022, without success. Perhaps this was because there were no classified documents on the property. Or, as was the case at Mar-a-Lago the prior June, they simply weren’t given the chance to look in the places where the documents were kept.
That’s the fundamental divide we’re asked to consider. Is it a coincidence that boxes were moved prior to the arrival of attorneys looking for classified material and that, the next day, boxes were flown to Bedminster? Or might Trump have lost that benefit of the doubt at some point over the past few years?
There’s one other element of the Butler interview worth mentioning. Some time later, he was speaking to a friend and colleague, Carlos De Oliveira. Last year, De Oliveira was added to the original indictment targeting Trump and Nauta. Butler said that he and De Oliveira were discussing the classified documents case when De Oliveira said, “You know, we’re all dirty, we all move boxes.”
Butler replied that the only time he’d moved boxes was to load them on the plane.
Washington
Question of the week: What does Santana Moss think of Washington’s WR depth?
The Washington Commanders are looking for a bounce back performance from their offense, and they’ll need their wide receivers to take a step up to do so.
Terry McLaurin is the clear No. 1 option at the position, but after him, there are several questions about how the rest of the room will shake out. The No. 2 spot is wide open, and there are several players who could fit the role and others in David Blough’s new scheme. Analysts Santana Moss, Logan Paulsen and Fred Smoot broke down the position on one of the most recent “Command Center” podcast episodes, and as one of the franchise’s all-time best receivers, Moss had a few thoughts on the group. Here’s his assessment on three wideouts and how they could fit into the offense.
“Knowing that he can play both outside and inside, I would think with some of the guys and their size and their experience, I would mainly probably see Antonio attack that middle. I think his route running ability is already to the level of some of these guys who have already played at this level. And just showing me that you don’t look like that this is new to you … He ain’t scared to go out and compete against these guys. To me — and we don’t know anything; we’re just sitting here speculating and assuming — I’d say he’s a slot guy out the gate.”
“I think if I had to just say if I look at that paper, and I asked any coach in this building by name how they think this guy played…if you tell me that Burks played well this offseason, he would be my No. 2 out the gate. He would be my No. 2 wide receiver because one: he brings size, he brings speed, he brings a gear at that size that a lot of people ain’t comfortable checking … You got a guy with size, leaping ability, the catch radius and can run.”
“They talk about how he was one of those guys from Day 1 that could play every position, and that’s stemming from him being a quarterback. Quarterbacks learn the game a little different from just a regular skill position guy. Luke came in here, and he knew X, he knew Z, he knew Gator. When you have those intangibles and you have that kind of mindset when it comes to playing that position, they can use him where they want to use him. That’s why I said he’s a great committee guy. He’s a guy that I know I’m gonna have on special teams as a returner, and guess what? If he’s not the starter, I’m okay with that because I know I’m going to ask more of him if somebody needs to take a breather.
Washington
Georgia featured at Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON — The Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., is featuring Georgia among its participating states. The fair had to close for several hours Friday because of the heat, but reopened to visitors.
Georgia’s booth showcases the state’s No. 1 industry: agriculture. The display focuses on peaches, peanuts, Vidalia onions and poultry.
One fairgoer said Georgia’s agricultural offerings were a surprise.
“I was not aware that you did eggs in Georgia. I should have figured that out since Waffle House is pretty much in every town, but that was a learning, and then, of course going along with eggs is chickens,” the attendee said.
All states are represented at the fair, though not all are participating directly.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Washington
Weather Alert: Storms move into DMV area
Storm Team4 is tracking severe thunderstorms, flood watches and flash flood warnings. See all weather alerts here.
4 things to know about the weather:
- Strong storms and downpours taper off as a cooler pattern settles into the DMV
- Temperatures fall back below normal for early July with highs mainly in the 80s
- Periods of clouds and scattered showers/storms remain possible through midweek
- Humidity stays up there, but the dangerous heat is taking a break (thank goodness)
After a heat wave and some strong thunderstorms, the weather pattern across Washington and the DMV turns noticeably less hot this week.
A frontal boundary settling south of the region will bring cooler temperatures, more clouds, and periodic chances for showers through midweek. While it won’t be a washout, keep the umbrella nearby as unsettled conditions linger. Temperatures remain much more comfortable compared to the recent heat wave.
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
QuickCast
MONDAY
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms possible
A few pockets of heavier rain cannot be ruled out
Humid, but significantly cooler. Heat Index and low 90s
Wind: East to northeast 5–10 mph
Chance of rain: 50%
Highs: 85° to 89°
MONDAY NIGHT
Mostly cloudy with a few lingering showers
Mild and humid
Wind: Light
Lows: 71°–74°
TUESDAY
Mostly cloudy and cooler
Showers still possible
Less intense humidity compared to previous days
Highs: 82°–86°
WEDNESDAY
Mostly cloudy with a few breaks of sun; highs in the lower 80s
A few showers possible
THURSDAY
Warmer and more humid as sunshine returns
Scattered afternoon storms possible
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
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