The aide, Molly Michael, told federal investigators the cards had visible classification markings and had been used during the former president’s administration to brief him on international matters, according to the report.
“This is a mess,” former prosecutor Charles Coleman Jr., a legal analyst for MSNBC, responded to the development.
“He wasn’t trying to recycle paper? He wasn’t trying to keep it green?” asked “The 11th Hour” anchor Stephanie Ruhle.
“No, this is not someone who is a conservationist by any stretch,” Coleman Jr. replied.
The report could doom Trump and “be used against him” because it would demonstrate his total contempt for U.S. national secrets, said Coleman Jr.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Trump is charged under the Espionage Act with mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving the White House. He has pleaded not guilty.