A folder containing classified information about Russian interference in the US elections

Before his term as president ended in early 2021, Trump ordered the CIA to send the dossier to the White House so he could “declassify” parts of the dossier for public release. Top-secret information about Russia was included in the dossier along with other partially insensitive or less sensitive documents.

Members of Trump’s staff then made several copies for editing. But the original folder, about 25 centimeters thick, which alone contains the most sensitive and confidential information, disappeared in the hours surrounding the transfer of power to Joe Biden and has not appeared at all.

One source said the materials contained classified intelligence collected by the United States and NATO, raising concerns that the methods used to collect this information could fall into the wrong hands.

The US intelligence service wrote in a report in January 2017 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government launched a campaign of disinformation and cyberattacks to “boost Trump’s election chances” and discredit his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Russia has always denied such interference.

Senate committee briefed

The folder’s disappearance is of such great concern that the US intelligence community informed the Senate Intelligence Committee last year about the missing material and efforts by the current Biden administration to recover the folder.

Last year, the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, searching for secret documents that Trump took against the rules after his presidency. The folder was not found either.

Trump himself has not yet responded to reports of the missing folder. His presidential campaign also did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.