GOP House Intel chair says Trump classified documents case ‘of grave concern’

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that the storage of the classified documents at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property is “of grave concern” and also raised concerns about President Biden’s handling of such materials.

“It’s certainly of grave concern,” Turner said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that he also has “grave concerns” about classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president that were found in his possession and are now being looked into by special counsel Robert Hur.

“I can tell you from having looked at both of those documents, I have grave concerns about both of those type of documents being out in an unsecured place. Both of them included details of national security issues that should not have been outside of a controlled environment,” Turner said.

Anchor Jake Tapper pushed back on the comparison, highlighting that Biden’s team turned over the documents quickly upon discovery and cooperated with authorities, while Trump is accused of obstruction of justice in keeping the documents from being turned over to the federal government. There is also the matter of Trump’s documents including some of the nation’s most sensitive materials.

Trump has been charged on 37 federal counts in connection with the mishandling of classified records at his Mar-a-Lago home. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Miami last week.

Turner, who as Intelligence Committee chairman has received briefings on both the Trump and Biden classified documents investigations, said he anticipates the legal process playing out but wouldn’t defend the accusations of Trump’s mishandling of sensitive documents.

“With respect to this litigation, it’s going to go forward, and I’m certainly not going to defend the behavior that is listed in that complaint. But they’re going to have to prove it, and it’s a legal process that’s going to have to go forward,” Turner said Sunday.

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