Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham wrecked the claims by Trump and his defenders that Mar-a-Lago is secure.
Video of Grisham:
Grisham told CNNโs Jim Acosta when asked if Mar-a-Lago was a safe place to store classified documents:
Absolutely not. Mar-a-Lago, when we were down there, despite it being called the winter white house, it was a membership club first and foremost. Members could bring guests. There was very little vetting. I know that the presidentโs current lawyers are saying itโs this very secure property, but thatโs just not true. A teenager got on property once just to see if he could do it. Of course, we had that Chinese national who got on the property one time.
You go down to that beach area, and anybody can access Mar-a-Lago from the beach. There is Secret Service there, but theyโre just looking for weapons. Theyโre not checking IDs, theyโre not seeing whoโs coming. So Mar-a-Lago is honestly probably one of the worst places I can imagine it being of all the Trump properties.
So much for the defense that Trumpโs lawyer is pushing that Mar-a-Lago is very secure.
Mar-a-Lago should never have housed top secret documents. Sticking top secret documents in the basement of a club that has people roaming in and out each day.
Trump for profit private club is not secure. It wasnโt secured when he was president and it is even less secure now that he is not. As Grisham said, anyone can get on to the Mar-a-Lago grounds from the beach.
The FBI acted with urgency because they had no choice. Trump stole classified information and kept it in an unsecured area, and Grishamโs description emphasizes the situationโs urgency.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelorโs Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association