Donald Trump's handling of classified documents has put the former president in serious legal peril, but could also have consequences that harm the country, according to an analysis by Newsweek.
A heavily redacted FBI affidavit unsealed on Friday provided new details about the volume and nature of the materials retrieved from Trump's Florida home.
The document, which was submitted by the FBI so it could get a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago, showed officials at the Justice Department had raised concerns that closely held government secrets were being illegally stored there.
Agents returned with a warrant on August 8 and removed even more classified documents.
Here, Newsweek rounds up several ways Trump's handling of documents and the investigation into it could affect the country.
Danger to 'Human Sources'
The affidavit doesn't reveal details about the 11 sets of classified documents recovered by the FBI during the August 8 search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump's residence and a private club accessible to members and their guests.
However, it revealed that among the 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved from Trump's home in January was classified material that related to the use of "clandestine human sources" in intelligence gathering.
Douglas London, a former senior CIA officer, has warned of the dangers to those sources' lives if that information was to fall into enemy hands.
"That means that the clues that might be in the intelligence or classified pieces of information that the president took with him to Mar-a-Lago provide clues and pointers that adversaries might use to identify the means of that information getting out," London said on MSNBC. "It's serious business."
The New York Times reported last year that the CIA had seen dozens of cases of foreign informants who were either killed, arrested or most likely compromised, although no cases were attributed to former president Trump.
Targeted by Spies
Former acting CIA director Michael Morell has said classified documents may have been targeted by spies working for foreign countries because of sloppy handling by the Trump administration.
During an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday, Morell said classified documents may have been vulnerable to spies even before they were transported to Trump's Florida estate.
"I think they were vulnerable, even at the White House, since they seem to have been mishandled at the White House as well, right? We have to look at that, as well as Mar-a-Lago… as the damage assessment goes forward, I think they need to look at both of those places."
Morell noted that not everyone at the White House has a top secret clearance "so you have to worry about who had access to those documents, who didn't have clearance to do so."
An average of four Americans are spying for foreign intelligence services without the knowledge of U.S. officials, Morell said, and even more are never caught.
"So there's a lot of spying going on in Washington, right?" he said. "And if you're a foreign intelligence service and you want to target the United States government, what's the number one place you want to target? The White House."
'Riots in the Streets'
Sen. Lindsey Graham has warned of rioting in the streets if Trump is prosecuted over the handling of classified documents.
"If there's a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, after the Clinton debacle ... there'll be riots in the streets," he said during an appearance on Fox News over the weekend, making a reference to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State.
A lengthy investigation by the State Department concluded there was no evidence of deliberate mishandling of classified information in that case.
Attacks on Law Enforcement
Researchers tracking extremism have warned of escalating violent rhetoric from the far-right, including threats against federal law enforcement officers.
"We're seeing message boards just flooded with talk of violence, and the next 'civil war,' and this idea that they need to retaliate against the left," Alex Friedfeld, an investigative researcher with the Anti-Defamation League, recently told NPR.
Online threats quickly turned to real-world violence days after the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, when an armed Trump supporter tried to breach the FBI's Cincinnati office. The man, Ricky Shiffer, was later shot dead after an hour-long standoff with law enforcement.
A Truth Social account apparently belonging to Shiffer reportedly shared posts including one that said "Kill [the FBI] on sight."
The FBI was investigating an "unprecedented" number of threats against the agency's personnel and property, including some that were made against agents who were listed in court documents as involved in the Mar-a-Lago search, CNN reported earlier this month.
Midterms Boost for Democrats
Republicans had rallied around Trump when news first broke about the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, but Trump defenders have quietened as more details have emerged in the weeks since.
Some have indicated that the former president's legal woes could harm the GOP ahead of the November midterms, and boost Democrats seeking to retain control of Congress.
That worry was alluded to by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.
"Former President Trump has been out of office for going on two years now," he said. "You think this is a coincidence, just happening a few months before the midterm elections?"
"The most immediate and obvious political ramification of these developments is that they hurt Republicans," Steven Smith, a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis, told Newsweek.
"At best, it looks like Trump was sloppy with his handling of documents deemed important to national security. That undermines his reputation and that of his party in a domain—national security—that has long favored Republicans."
Smith said some Republicans, particularly those running in hotly contested races, will try to keep their distance from Trump ahead of November.
"News about Trump may make ignoring Trump impossible so Republican candidates and leaders will be severely conflicted about when and how to respond. Some will decide that remaining Trump loyalists and maximizing turnout in their base is the best option," he said.
Smith noted that a growing number of Republicans believe the GOP cannot win in 2024 with Trump as their nominee. If he chooses to run, it could "create a serious split in the party that will harm its chances of winning in November 2024."
"Much still depends on the outcome of the investigations underway or yet to be started," Smith said. "Criminal charges in one or more cases will suck the air out of politics for a time and greatly harm Republicans who have defended Trump."
Update 8/30/22, 6:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from Steven Smith.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
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