TS/SCI: What an acronym reveals about the files seized from Mar-a-Lago

[Nevilledog]

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https://www.npr.org/2022/08/16/1117455322/trump-mar-a-lago-documents-fbi-ts-sci

When the FBI searched former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort last week, agents seized 11 sets of classified documents, including ones marked "Top Secret," court filings show.

The actual contents of those documents are unknown, but they included some from each of the government's security classification levels: confidential, secret and top secret. They also included a less familiar designation: TS/SCI, meaning top secret/sensitive compartmented information.

These classification levels refer to the documents and the level of security clearance an individual needs to access them. The levels also rise in order according to how much damage the unauthorized disclosure of the information could do, Mark Zaid, an attorney specializing in national security, told NPR.

"If there is an unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, it could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security of the United States," Zaid said. "At a secret level, unauthorized disclosure is expected to cause serious damage. And for the top secret level, unauthorized disclosure is expected to cause exceptionally grave damage."

The property receipt unsealed with the search warrant shows that of the documents seized, four sets of documents were classified as top secret, three more sets were classified as secret, and three other sets were classified as confidential.

The remaining set was classified as TS/SCI.

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