I have concerns about several things the press doesn’t seem to emphasize when discussing Trump’s “boxes.” You may have similar concerns.
The first issue concerns Trump’s interactions with the Archives. Initially, because Trump hadn’t turned over anything, the archivists knew that he must be stonewalling them. But when he turned over the first tranche of documents have you ever wondered why they realized he still had more that he needed to share? This was doubly true when they received the second batch with one of Trump’s lawyer’s certifying that everything now had been turned over. They nonetheless persisted eventually obtaining permission from a judge to authorize an FBI search that produced even more documents. In my mind, although I am only guessing, there can only be one explanation: Trump’s infamous love letters with Kim Jong Un. He publicly treasured these documents and in his mind certainly believed incorrectly they belonged to him personally; making it likely he would be unwilling to hand them over. On the other hand, it was one of the few things the Archives could know for certain was still missing when they went through the documents that had been shared. My guess is that he eventually planned to display the letters for all his members to see at the Kim Jong Un themed bar at his golf club in New Jersey. If Trump at any point had returned the letters, the archives might have suspected that he was still hanging on to more stuff, but they would not have sufficient evidence to continue searching.
Second, the discussion of the Iran War Plan, especially the way Trump talks about it on the tape recording doesn’t square with my experience at the Pentagon. He seems to imply that it was Milley’s plan and an action the General recommended Trump should take. I have no doubt that an Iran War Plan exists along with one for every other potential strategic challenge the US faces. The discordant note in all this is the Pentagon’s willingness to put the plan on paper and share it even with the President. War plans and information about human sources are the most tightly held secrets in the Executive Branch. When I was responsible for East Asia in ISA, in order for me to even get a briefing on the Korea War Plan it required the Secretary of Defense giving the Chairman a direct order for it to happen. Even then, the joint staff drug their feet for a couple of weeks before actually arranging the briefing. Given this experience, the only scenario in the current circumstances that makes any sense is if the President demanded to see the Iran War Plan and the Chairman complied, but only agreeing to the request after kicking and screaming to high heaven. Trump doesn’t understand the word no and doesn’t appreciate the sensitivity of the things he was seeing and hearing. The tape recording suggests the plan was in written form. This again strongly suggests that it was Trump’s idea from the get-go and something he wanted to hang on to. The notion that it was Milley’s idea goes against everything I know about war plans and how they are shared outside the Pentagon. Normally, if pressed, the President would be given an oral briefing on something this sensitive and nothing on paper would be left behind even the briefer’s notes. Only Trump insisting that something be put in his hand makes sense. Now that there seems to be some difficulty in finding this particular document, I believe Trump either destroyed the plan or still has it squirreled away somewhere.
Finally, there is the photograph taken by one of Trump’s staffers showing a box of documents laying out on the floor. It is obviously a mis mash of things but does give us a sense of Trump’s filing system. What I don’t see is any attention drawn to the classified document that is in need of “plucking” from all this mess. Unlike the photos taken by the FBI that clearly show the classification markings, in this case all you see is the red border, but for anyone who has had access to classified materials this is proof positive that the box contains at least one classified document. Anytime this photo appears it should contain an arrow or a circle highlighting for the general public that they are viewing the cover of a classified document mixed in with all the other items strewn on the floor.
Just saying.