Does the FBI raid involve the Espionage Act?

This article thinks it's a definite possibility. 

"One possibility that has begun to be discussed by analysts familiar with presidential records procedures is the potential that the investigation involves not just a simple breach of the Federal Records Act but is actually focused on an alleged breach of the Espionage Act, a World War I-era law most known for dealing with the theft of information that could harm national security.

"While the law typically is thought to involve acts of spying against the United State (hence the name), it also contains one provision that could very well deal with the situation that has arisen at Mr Trump’s resort home: the handling of classified documents related to US defense policy or capabilities, and the punishments for negligent management of such files. The Act specifically states that anyone who 'through gross negligence permits [such documents] to be removed from [their] proper place of custody' can face a fine or imprisonment of up to ten years.

"There’s some evidence lending credence to the theory that the FBI’s investigation could involve the Espionage Act: specifically, the involvement of a top DOJ official in charge of the agency’s counterintelligence division. The participation of Jay Bratt, chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES) of the DOJ’s national security team, suggests that the interest of federal authorities could very well extend into the realm of national security threats. Mr Bratt was reported by CNN to have attended the June excursion of DOJ officials to Mar-a-Lago, which preceded Monday’s raid and came as the president has been battling the National Archives over documents taken from the White House for months."

 

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