Federal judge orders Trump to provide name of private investigators in document search

A federal judge has ordered attorneys for former President Trump to provide the government with the names of the private investigators he hired to search for classified documents at his properties.

Trump’s attorneys had hired the investigators last fall after a federal judge urged them to find out whether there were other classified documents in Trump’s possession after a previous search at his Mar-a-Lago home where classified materials were discovered.

Two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times on Thursday that Chief Judge Beryl Howell from the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., issued the order on Wednesday.

The Washington Post first reported last month that Trump’s legal team had hired an outside group to search at least two of his properties after a federal judge asked them to ensure they fully complied with a subpoena issued in May from the Justice Department (DOJ).

At least two documents with classified markings were found at a storage unit in West Palm Beach, Fla., not far from Mar-a-Lago, during the search.

A grand jury first issued a subpoena in May to request that Trump provide any classified documents he still had to the National Archives and Record Administration. Trump’s legal team provided additional documents the next month, but the FBI searched his Florida property at Mar-a-Lago in August after it obtained evidence that other classified documents remained there.

The FBI recovered hundreds of classified and sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago.

The Times reported Thursday that the order to reveal the names of those who conducted the search at other properties appears to be a step toward the DOJ asking them about the efforts they took.

The other properties include Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and Trump Tower in New York, the Times reported.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel in November to oversee the investigations into the documents that were found at Mar-a-Lago and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

The Hill has reached out to Trump’s office for comment.

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