The Justice Department has begun an investigation into records found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in mid-February said 15 boxes of White House records stored at Mar-a-Lago contained items marked as classified national security information.
Trump issued a statement Feb. 18 denying any irregularities or wrongdoing, and alleging political motivations in the story being circulated.
The DOJ's probe remained in the very early stages, the Post reported.
The newspaper, which said the DOJ had been in touch with the Archives about moving its inquiry forward, added that it was unclear whether department officials had started reviewing the materials in the boxes, or sought to interview people who might been involved in assembling and moving them from the White House.
News of the DOJ investigation came after House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland accusing the DOJ of impeding the panel's expanded investigation into the boxes of records.
Garland, when addressing the matter, previously said the DOJ would "do what we always do under these circumstances — look at the facts and the law and take it from there," the Post said.
An FBI spokeswoman told the Post, "We can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation."
The National Archives sent a letter to the House oversight committee last month saying that, based on "consultation" with DOJ, it was unable to "provide any comment" and fulfill the committee’s request for an inventory of the records.
The Archives referred the committee to the DOJ’s Office of Legislative Affairs for any further questions, the Post reported.
The Post reported that if DOJ planned an investigation into the records, it might not want lawmakers getting an inventory of the materials.
In her letter Thursday, Maloney asked Garland to confirm to the committee by April 14 whether it "will inform NARA that it may fully cooperate with the committee's inquiry, including by providing the requested inventory of documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago."
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