WASHINGTON — As we learn more about what exactly investigators found at former president Donald Trump's home, we’re looking into social media claims that Trump could face harsher penalties because of a law he signed.
THE QUESTION:
Did President Trump enact tougher penalties for possession of classified documents?
THE SOURCES:
THE ANSWER:
Yes. President Trump enacted tougher penalties for possession of classified documents. However, whether the DOJ will choose to charge the former president with a crime is still a big question mark.
WHAT WE FOUND:
The Department of Justice recovered documents during a search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence that were apparently there illegally due to their national importance and level of classification.
Amid the speculation as to what could be in those documents and why they were so important to retrieve are claims online asserting Trump himself actually made the consequences for such offenses tougher.
Senate Bill 139, the “FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017,” primarily focused on expanding intelligence-gathering capabilities overseas.
“We cannot let our guard down in the face of foreign threats to our safety, our freedom, and our way of life,” reads a Trump statement on the legislation.
However, in “other matters,” the bill also addresses “unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material.” It changes US Code to increase the maximum prison time from 1 year to 5 years.
President Trump and his associates are arguing that the documents seized from his Florida estate had been declassified.
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