Classified Documents Stored In Mar-A-Lago Bathroom

About

Classified Documents Stored In Mar-A-Lago Bathroom refers to a photograph taken of a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago where former President Donald Trump stored highly classified and top secret government documents. The photograph was included as evidence in the indictment of Trump amd published on June 9th, 2023 by Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation, and filed in federal court in Florida.

Origin

According to the text of the indictment, in April of 2021 Trump staff members moved the boxes (which apparently contained classified documents as well as other keepsakes, papers, and mementos) to the bathroom and shower in the Lake Room of the Mar-a-Lago club. This was because they wanted to make room in the business center office space where the documents had previously been stored (image from court documents seen below).

Later in 2021, Trump's possession of the documents (which included information about strategy, nuclear weapons, and US national defense vulnerabilities) attracted the attention of federal investigators, who asked for them back. This began the 2022-2023 Donald Trump Classified Documents Case. The former President repeatedly obfuscated and tried to find a way to keep the documents, as detailed in the indictment, culminating in the raid on Mar-a-Lago. Rumors had long circulated about the President's mishandling and alleged flushing of documents.

Spread

Users on social media seized on the picture of the bathroom as representative of many things about the whole story and about Trump as a person and historical figure. Twitter^[2] user @pattymo on June 9th argued the photo "sums up" the Trump presidency almost as well as the Trump McDonald's meal photo in a tweet (seen below) that earned almost 72,000 likes.

Others, like @turnageb (seen below left), who received over 29,000 likes on Twitter^[3] on June 9th, combined the photo with other kinds of memes, joking about Trump's alleged crimes. Twitter^[4] user @EmmaTolkin also combined the photo with an "I shoulda never smoked that shit" meme (seen below right) earning almost 5,600 likes on June 9th, 2023.

Some pointed out the eccentric interior design choices of the bathroom, such as Twitter^[5] user @ZachBornstein, who received over 27,000 likes mocking Trump's choice of cheap shower rod and chandeliers on June 10th (seen below).

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