Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Historian's Snarky Reaction To DoJ's Photo Of Documents At Mar-A-Lago Is All Of Us

Historian's Snarky Reaction To DoJ's Photo Of Documents At Mar-A-Lago Is All Of Us
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for National Archives Foundation; Zach Gibson/Pool/Getty Images

Michael Beschloss—a presidential historian who hosts MSNBC's Fireside History on Peacock—had a snarky reaction to a photo the Department of Justice (DoJ) included in a court filing of classified documents seized from former Republican President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month.

The DoJ sought a search warrant for Trump's home turned paid membership resort and event space after "obtaining evidence that highly classified documents were likely concealed and that Mr. Trump’s representatives had falsely claimed all sensitive material had been returned," according to The New York Times, which broke the news about the court filing.


The filing came after Trump requested an independent review of materials seized from Mar-a-Lago following a search that found three classified documents in desks in Trump's office as well as more than 100 documents in 13 boxes or containers with classification markings, some with the highest restrictions.

Included in the filing was a photograph of several yellow folders recovered from Trump's home turned paid resort marked “Top Secret” and another red one labeled “Secret.”

The photo of the documents quickly circulated online, soon catching the attention of Beschloss, who commented:

"This photo clearly suggests that the ex-President shows great respect for the importance of classified documents, right?"

The number of documents the DoJ uncovered was twice the number of classified documents Trump's attorneys turned over voluntarily swearing under oath they'd returned all classified information to the federal government.

The filing indicates prosecutors are exploring the possibility Trump and his associates engaged in criminality and intentionally obstructed the investigation and investigators concluded “government records were likely concealed and removed” from a Mar-a-Lago storage room after the DoJ sent Trump a subpoena for any remaining classified documents in its efforts to recover what had previously been a straightforward request from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Trump—like all Presidents since the establishment of the Presidential Records Act of 1978—was required to turn over all documents to NARA. Instead, NARA noted Trump took them with him to Mar-a-Lago.

Mar-a-Lago is accessible by any individual who can pay the membership fee and members of the public who book facilities or attend events at the resort such as weddings or birthday parties. Surveillance video from Mar-a-Lago seemed to indicate the documents Trump took were not guarded or always kept in a locked room—despite some being classified or top secret.

At the moment, "department officials are not expected to file charges imminently, if they ever do," according to the Times report. They also noted "the specific contents of the materials the government recovered in the search remain unclear—as does what risk to national security Mr. Trump’s decision to retain the materials posed."

Given these facts, it's become all the more clear Trump does not show "great respect for the importance of classified documents" as Beschloss so snarkily quipped.

Social media users soon responded with quips and observations of their own.




Beschloss has sparred with the Trump family before.

Last summer, former First Lady Melania Trump lashed out at him after he referred to her controversial renovation of the White House Rose Garden as an "evisceration."

Trump fired back via a Twitter account that represents her official "office," though she does not currently hold any office since leaving the White House.

The account said Beschloss had "proven his ignorance by showing a picture of the Rose Garden in its infancy," a remark that prompted social media users to criticize the former First Lady and to air their own grievances about her design.

More from People/donald-trump

Gavin Newsom
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Newsom Brings Receipts About Red State Homicide Rates Amid Trump's Deployment Of Troops To Blue Cities

In recent weeks, Fox News has devoted significant coverage to California Governor Gavin Newsom and his state's crime rates, a move the network has barreled into since President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops into Los Angeles as part of his nationwide immigration crackdown.

But Newsom isn't taking this lying down, using the official X account for his press office to troll the GOP, particularly after he signed a sweeping redistricting proposal to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, creating five new Democratic-leaning U.S. House seats in what he described as a direct response to Republican-led gerrymandering in Texas backed by Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Child covering their face
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash

'Harmless' Lies People Tell Kids That Actually Have Long-Term Effects

From growing watermelons in your belly if you swallow watermelon seeds, to having to go to bed early so Santa Claus can visit on Christmas Eve, there are a lot of little lies that parents actually tell their kids.

But while they might think they're all harmless lies, some of them have long-lasting, and very negative, effects.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @andydouglas.trumpboy's TikTok video; President Donald Trump
@andydouglas.trumpboy/TikTok; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Video Of Little Boy Sobbing After Finding Out Trump Is A Real Person Goes Viral—And We Totally Get It

Whether it was Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or some other important facet of childhood, most of us found out when we were kids that something we loved did not exist, and it was absolutely devastating and world-changing.

But imagine there being something that you deeply disliked or feared, only for you to find out that it actually exists on the same plane and in the same timeline as you.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @originalsugarphly's TikTok video
@originalsugarphly/TikTok

Woman Stunned After Best Friend Of 23 Years Ends Friendship Over Her 'Mom Shorts'

We will all have friends who come into our lives for a reason, for a season, or for a lifetime. There are those situational friendships, like from work or school, that dissolve when we exit that space, and there are friendships that might form from knowing the same people.

Then there are those tried-and-true friendships that we think will truly stand the test of time—but even those sometimes fracture under pressure. And sometimes for the most ridiculous reasons.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @nurse_xtina129's TikTok
@nurse_xtina129/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate By Putting Out Small Fire At Dunkin' Donuts After Workers Ignored It

Imagine hitting that afternoon slump and seeking out your favorite caffeinated beverage: a highlight in an otherwise dumpster fire kind of day. But then you arrive at your coffeehouse of choice—and there's literally a fire.

TikToker Cristina Conklin was waiting in line for a beverage at Dunkin' Donuts in Warwick, New York, when she became either a villain or a hero, depending on who was watching her TikTok video.

Keep ReadingShow less