Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Attorney General Pam Bondi in a letter Tuesday that her department provided him with a "damning" memo containing new allegations about President Trump's handling of classified documents when he was out of office. The House Judiciary Committee ranking member is using the disclosures to renew scrutiny on the classified documents case, which was dropped after Trump returned to office last year.
Raskin says the allegations include that Trump possessed documents that only six people in the U.S. government had access to, showed off a classified map to passengers on his private plane, and had files relevant to his business interests. The disclosures were reportedly part of documents handed over to the Judiciary Committee as part of Republican lawmakers' efforts to undermine the credibility of the classified documents investigation.
According to Raskin, the revelations come from an FBI memorandum dated January 13, 2023, alleging that some of the classified documents Trump retained "would be pertinent to certain business interests." Raskin characterized the documents as "cherry-picked" materials provided by the DOJ that Republicans intended to use against Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation.
The White House pushed back strongly against Raskin's claims, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson calling the allegations part of "deranged Jack Smith and his lies." She emphasized that Trump "did nothing wrong" and pointed to his electoral victory as vindication. The DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday evening.