- An empty “classified” folder is displayed at the 45-story bar in Trump Tower, according to MSNBC.
- FBI agents found 48 empty folders marked “classified” during the Mar-a-Lago raid.
- It’s not immediately clear if the folder on Trump Tower is a copy or the real deal.
45 Wine and Whiskey Bar at Trump Tower in New York, stocked with all things Donald Trump; A photo of the former president with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a signed trade deal and even a Trump-branded soccer match.
But sitting inconspicuously in a display case in a Manhattan bar is an empty “classified” folder, MSNBC reports.
— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) August 10, 2022
The folder may have sat dormant for months, but it’s now garnering attention following the disclosure of the extensive and detailed inventory found at Mar-a-Lago during a raid last month.
In August, 48 empty folders similar to the one on Fifth Avenue were found by FBI agents at Trump’s Florida property, according to an inventory list.
Online pranksters The Sheep Liars first shared a photo of the alleged folder inside a Trump Tower bar on August 10 – days after the raid. But after the details were leaked, the YouTube duo retweeted it on Friday.
It was not immediately clear whether the blank folder seen at Trump Tower was a replica or the real deal. Still, the president’s former attorney general, Michael Cohen, has suggested that documents may be stored in Trump Tower and other residences.
Insider reached out to 45 Wine & Whiskey Bar and Trump Tower for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Insider Yelena Dzanova reports that the newly released information shows that Trump has placed personal materials such as newspaper clippings and photographs with documents classified as classified or classified. When FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago, they found more than 10,000 government documents, according to the affidavit.
Under the Presidential Records Act, Trump had to turn over all of his records when he left office. The Justice Department is now investigating whether Trump broke any laws regarding the handling of government documents.
On MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” Chris Hayes offered the possibility that Trump “could store documents at Mar-a-Lago and use them to decorate his new hotel bar.”
He said it’s one theory among many who want to get back to why the former president brought so many empty files from the White House to Mar-a-Lago. “The truth is, we don’t know,” Hayes said. “We may never know.”
Chuck Rosenberg, an attorney and former top FBI official, told MSNBC that it was a “head scratcher.” He also said he was confused by MSNBC as to whether the folders were empty when they were taken to Mar-a-Lago, or whether the classified contents were lost at Trump’s country club.
