A one-time aide to Donald Trump told federal investigators that the former president repeatedly wrote to-do lists for her on the back of classified documents from the White House during his administration, according to sources.
The assistant, Molly Michael, told investigators that Trump gave her requests or tasks written on the back of notecards that she later recognized as sensitive White House materials, ABC News first reported on Monday, citing sources who were not named by the outlet.
The notecards, which had clear classification markings, were used to brief Trump about phone calls with foreign leaders or other international matters while he was president.
A Trump spokesperson called the sources’ claims “illegal leaks” that lacked the “proper context and relevant information” and denied the former president did anything wrong. “President Trump did nothing wrong, has always insisted on truth and transparency, and acted in a proper manner, according to the law,” the spokesperson said.
Michael started as Trump’s executive assistant in the White House in 2018 and continued to work for him when he left office. She resigned last year following Trump’s alleged refusal to comply with federal requests and the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago for classified documents, ABC News reported.
When contacted by the news outlet, a representative for Michael and the FBI both declined to comment.
The report on Michael’s statements to investigators comes as Trump faces 40 criminal counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified information after leaving the White House. Special counsel Jack Smith brought the initial indictment in June and then filed a superseding indictment in July, broadening the scope of the classified documents case.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance supervisor at Mar-a-Lago, were also charged as co-defendants for allegedly ordering another Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete some security footage that the Department of Justice wanted. Trump denied any wrongdoing, most recently in a broadcast interview with NBC's Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday.
“The tapes weren't deleted,” Trump said. “In other words, there was nothing done to them. And they were my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn't even have to give them the tapes, I don't think.”
“I think I would have won in court,” he added. “When they asked for the tapes, I said, 'Sure.' They're my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn't even have to give them. Just so you understand, though, we didn't delete anything. Nothing was deleted.”
Trump's classified documents trial is set for May 20, 2024, with Florida district judge Aileen Cannon presiding over the case.
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