Not that I have any sympathy for what happened, but if classified documents are NOT stored in a secure container (safe or vault) registered with the GSA, or within a SCIF (and maybe still within a safe), then it is a no-no. Reference to a "basement" may be only that, and not a SCIF. But if they were in a safe (in a basement), no problem. If they were unclassified, they could be lying in piles on the side counter of a dining room.
Notwithstanding any particular, immediate storage arrangements (safes, SCIFs), the FACILITY encompassing these arrangements would need to be "secure" within the specifications of the regulations controlling access to classified materials. I don't think Mar-a-Lago met those requirements, and I am therefore doubtful that Trump had ANY classified materials stored there. (Approved and cleared couriers coming in and out would not be subject to the limitation, I think.)
Not that I have any sympathy for what happened, but if classified documents are NOT stored in a secure container (safe or vault) registered with the GSA, or within a SCIF (and maybe still within a safe), then it is a no-no. Reference to a "basement" may be only that, and not a SCIF. But if they were in a safe (in a basement), no problem. If they were unclassified, they could be lying in piles on the side counter of a dining room.
Notwithstanding any particular, immediate storage arrangements (safes, SCIFs), the FACILITY encompassing these arrangements would need to be "secure" within the specifications of the regulations controlling access to classified materials. I don't think Mar-a-Lago met those requirements, and I am therefore doubtful that Trump had ANY classified materials stored there. (Approved and cleared couriers coming in and out would not be subject to the limitation, I think.)