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There are four things that would be going on right now in the Trump Espionage Act and obstruction investigation, even beyond any additional investigative steps: filter, scope, and classification reviews, as well as an inventory of what was seized.

After years of suggesting that Robert Mueller was only investigating Trump for obstruction, Maggie Haberman now ignores that DOJ has shown probable cause that Trump's ripping, flushing, and hiding of documents was an effort to obstruct investigations.

It seems increasingly likely DOJ is investigating Trump's obstruction of investigations. It's just not clear, yet, which investigations are included in the scope. 

In August and December 2021 and May of this year, I laid out how subpoenaing the records the January 6 Committee had already gotten Joe Biden to review for privilege was a solution to a tricky constitutional problem with investigating the former President. In May, DOJ did just that.

Pat Philbin would have firsthand knowledge about some of the documents Trump refused to return to the National Archives. More importantly, he would have firsthand knowledge about why Trump refused to give them back -- and a legal incentive to share that with the FBI.

This graphic shows what we know about how the Trump search was conducted so far.

The CFR guidelines regarding standards for storing classified information not only dictate what type of lock one must used, but it also requires that someone inspect the Secret information stored in non-compliant closets every 4 hours, which may be why DOJ subpoenaed Trump for his surveillance footage.

The investigation of Donald Trump under the Espionage Act should be compared not with the example of Sandy Berger and David Petraues, but with Nghia Pho and Hal Martin, whose actions contributed to devastating global cyberattacks by malicious actors.

The big secret Trump was keeping this week was not, as I thought, that he is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act, but instead that because he refused to turn over classified documents the Archives knew he had, he gave FBI urgent reason to come and also get evidence he obstructed other investigations.