Trump Aide Claims She Saw Ex-Prez 'Rip Up' Classified Documents, Stuff Some Into His Pockets
Aug. 9 2022, Published 11:32 a.m. ET
Donald Trump often mishandled classified documents while he was president, a former White House official said, RadarOnline.com has learned.
After the FBI raided the former president's residence Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, Stephanie Grisham, a confidant to Trump and his wife, Melania, said he often mishandled documents. She said she saw him destroy documents and put others into his pocket while they were in the White House.
"The President of the United States did not handle classified documents properly," Grisham said.
Trump was in New York while his Florida club was raided. He found out about the search afterward and called it a "dark day" for America.
Grisham served as Trump's press secretary from July 2019 to April 2021. She said she has "watched" the former president mishandle documents.
- Melania Trump’s Ex-aide Says She Witnessed Donald Showing Classified Documents in Mar-a-Lago Dining Room: ‘He Has No Respect’
- FBI Agents Located EMPTY Folders Labeled 'Classified' During Raid On Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Unsealed Docs Show
- Kamala Harris Challenges ‘Backpedaling’ Donald Trump to Follow Through on Debate: ‘I’m Ready, Let’s Go!’
"I sat in an airplane with him, watched him go through documents, throw some away, rip some up and put some in his pocket," she recalled. "Because I remember specifically thinking: 'Why do those go in his pocket?'"
Grisham said she believes "something big" is behind the raid.
"I think it could be about military operations. This is me speculating, I want to be clear. But I could see the former President thinking they were cool, or fun," Grisham said. "We were not a White House that followed the rules. And I can tell you that handling classified information was not something that was really impressed upon us on a daily basis, or weekly, or monthly."
Trump revealed the raid, though the FBI has not acknowledged it.
Trump's attorneys turned over 15 boxes filled with documents to the National Archive in January. Trump's camp contends that they were mistakenly taken from the White House when the president was still disputing the election results.
Grisham's comments came during an interview with CNN.