Mar-a-Lago Photos Reveal Classified Documents Were Unguarded During Party

Photos have emerged which appear to show that a room—where Donald Trump kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort—was unguarded as he threw a party.

In June, prior to the former president pleading not guilty to 37 charges in connection to Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation, federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment detailing the allegations against Trump.

The indictment accused Trump of keeping sensitive materials in rooms that could be accessed by the public at his Florida resort, such as bathrooms and office spaces.

In one section, prosecutors state that Trump's valet, Walt Nauta, had found several of the former president's boxes on December 7, 2021, which had "fallen and their contents spilled onto the floor" of the storage room located on the ground floor near the pool area. Nauta was indicted alongside Trump over allegations he helped obstruct the federal attempt to retrieve the classified documents.

Included in the pile which Nauta found on the floor was a document marked "SECRET//REL 13 TO USA, FVEY," meaning the information it held could only be seen by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Prosecutors allege that Nauta then took a picture of the documents on the ground and sent it to another Trump employee with the message: "I opened the door and found this..." The image was included as evidence in the indictment against the former president.

The indictment states that the storage room could be reached through multiple entrances at Mar-a-Lago, including via a hallway that could be accessed through a pool patio doorway that was "often kept open."

Images that emerged on social media on Tuesday appear to show that Trump hosted an event show on the same day Nauta allegedly found the classified documents last December, and that a door leading to the storage room was open during the night.

On December 7, 2021, Trump held an event to endorse Anna Paulina Luna, the GOP lawmaker who at the time was running for Congress in Florida's 13th District.

One of those in attendance that night was Carl Prewitt, a Florida-based supporter of the former president who organizes local pro-Trump events.

Prewitt uploaded several pictures of the event at Mar-a-Lago on Facebook the following day with the caption: "At Mar-A-Lago last night where President Trump fully endorsed Anna Paulina Luna for US Congress D-13. It was great being there with so many friends and true Trump Supporters!"

Included in the group of images was a photo of the door to the storage room at Mar-a-Lago wide open, although there was no one other than Prewitt—presumed to be the photographer—visible close to it at that time. The photos posted by Prewitt do not show any signs of the spilled boxes of documents that Nauta is alleged to have found that day.

The photo of the open door at Luna's endorsement event has raised further questions about who could have had access to the classified materials while they were at Mar-a-Lago, where the former president frequently holds events, weddings, parties, and other gatherings.

Former FBI official Peter Strzok, who worked on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation before being fired over an alleged political bias against Trump, tweeted while sharing the image: "Don't worry, I'm sure Mar-a-Lago was secure. Here's a nighttime photo of the open outer door to the storage area *on the same day* Nauta found the boxes w/ spilled docs."

Twitter user The Pee Tape, a self-described journalist, shared the image Nauta allegedly took of the spilled documents along with Prewitt's posts and said: "I'm just saying: these documents don't spill themselves on the floor. People had access to them."

The former president has denied any wrongdoing in connection to the classified documents case. Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.