Professor Paul R. Pillar, the former US National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, listed the risks and harms of former US President Donald Trump's illegal retention of classified documents, some of which are highly sensitive to the national security of the United States.

Pillar began an article for him - on the American "The National Interest" website - by saying that the reactions of Trump supporters to the recovery of materials that the former president illegally took to his residence in Florida threw the concept of law and order into the wind and exposed public officials, who doing their jobs, at risk.

He added that Trump clearly violated the Presidential Records Act even if there were no classified material.

Lying and illegal possession

He explained that Trump illegally kept for a year more than 100 confidential documents, totaling more than 700 pages, before returning them to the government last January, and some of them were classified as classified at the highest levels, adding that Trump's lawyers lied to the government. To be sure, these articles were all there was to it.

This August, the FBI confiscated several boxes containing more classified material from Trump's residence in Florida, and press reports indicate that the total number is more than 300 documents.

Huge amount

Pillar commented that it is an enormous amount of sensitive material relevant to America's national security.

He added that mishandling of these materials posed serious risks to national security, especially intelligence sources and methods, as well as to the sensitive aspects of US diplomacy.


The damage is likely to be greater, he said;

Because Trump's actions have impeded and froze the assessment of damage, noting that damage assessments are more effective in limiting further damage when they are made as quickly as possible, because they can include evacuating human intelligence sources from areas that may be at risk, or reconfiguring the use of systems Technical information gathering.

Does not respect national security

He pointed out that Trump had already demonstrated - while in office - his lack of respect for national security and its rules, and that his highest priorities were himself, his arrogance, his pocket, and his thirst for revenge against anyone who crossed him, and there were some in the White House who could monitor his behavior, reach him and try to limit of its harm, which is not found in Florida.

And about what Trump could do, or might actually have done, with these documents, the author makes it clear that bragging about possessing information that few others have is the least harmful possibility, although any unauthorized disclosure of classified material carries risks.

Another possibility is the deliberate sabotage of the policies of the subsequent administration through selective leaks, the harm of which could come from the penetration of classified information and the undermining of America's foreign policy.

The most heinous and alarming dangers

More gruesome and troubling possibilities can be expected from Trump's character and history;

His financial history, for example, is littered with debt and corporate bankruptcy, connections with a hostile power like Russia, and reliance on that foreign power to achieve his business goals.

And most dangerous of all, his behavior as if he had something to hide, especially in his relations with Russia.

Pillar explained that Trump's relationship with the Russian regime indicates more than he has ever admitted, by secretly dealing with meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hiding the contents from his employees and other American officials.

After his first meeting with Putin, Trump confiscated his translator's notes, telling him not to tell anyone what he had heard.

In other conversations with Putin, he used Putin's interpreter, but no American.

never used to

The writer said that it is very unusual for an American president to exclude his employees and American officials who have responsibilities related to the country in question.

He also said that with possession of these top-secret documents, Trump has something to sell and may still want to build Trump Tower in Moscow.

Pillar concluded his article that recovering the documents would not stop Americans from worrying after Trump's representatives lied about whether he had any other documents, and there was no guarantee that the FBI was able to find everything, and Trump likely had copiers.