Dozens of Empty Folders with 'Classified' Labels Were Found During Mar-a-Lago Search, Unsealed Doc Shows

Mar. 15, 2025

Unsealed documents related to the recent search ofDonald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home are shedding more information on investigators' findings. Among them, that dozens of empty folders labeled “classified” were found in a storage closet in the private club.

All of the folders were found in various boxes or containers in Trump’s office or in a Mar-a-Lago storage room, according to the inventory. It remains unclear whether the documents that were stored in those folders were previously handed over to the federal government or remain unaccounted for.

Also listed among the inventory of items found in the search are more than 10,000 government documents without classification markings, along with items of clothing or other gifts, books and magazine clippings.

Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Inset: Donald Trump.Joe Raedle/Getty. Inset: Zach Gibson - Pool/Getty

Those documents showed 11 sets of classified documents were found in the search, some of which were marked as top secret, a designation meant for documents that should only be available in special government facilities.

Among the many boxes of items taken were binders of photos, an unspecified handwritten note and the executive grant of clemency forformer Trump aide Roger Stone. The three-page list of items also showed thatinformation about the president of Francewas collected.

Trump’s legal team has sought to appoint a special master to review documents FBI officials retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago home in the weeks since the search.

U.S. prosecutors, in response, have argued that “efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,“according to a filing the Justice Department submittedto a federal judge earlier this week.

That filing outlines the government’s repeated efforts to retrieve sensitive materials from Trump’s residence before it was searched Aug. 8, and includes a photo of documents in bright yellow and red folders labeled “Secret” and “Top Secret” that were found in a container in the former president’s office.

Officials said in the filing that documents found during the search showed a range of documents, with classification levels that “ranged from CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET information, and certain documents included additional sensitive compartments that signify very limited distribution.”

“In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents,” officials said in the filing.

According to the filing, three of the classified documents found “were not located in boxes, but rather were located in the desks.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.

More than 180 boxes were sent to the National Archives from Mar-a-Lago in January. After the National Archives followed up for more records, Trump’s team handed over 38 documents in June, along with a signed document stating that no other classified documents remained on site.

source: people.com