Chris Christie Says Trump Kept Classified Files As ‘A Trophy’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on Sunday that he believes former President Donald Trump illegally kept classified documents when he left the White House as “a trophy,” rather than using them for leverage.

“I think it’s much more likely they’re a trophy that he walks around and says, ‘Look, I’ve got this. I’ve got this classified document or that,’ because remember something, he can’t believe he’s not president,” Christie said on ABC’s This Week.

According to the Department of Justice, Trump failed to turn over classified documents to the National Archives, which is required by law when a president leaves office. In August, FBI agents conducted a search at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate and found hundreds of classified files and empty boxes with classified marks.

Trump’s lawyers are fighting a fierce legal battle with the DOJ during the last few months, arguing that the former president declassified the documents before bringing them to Mar-a-Lago. They also tried to delay the process by arguing that some documents are protected by attorney-client privilege.

In Christie’s opinion, Trump’s decision to not turn the documents back is related to the former president’s desire to remain in office.

“He can’t believe he still doesn’t get these documents, and he needs to display to everybody down at Mar-a-Lago or up in Bedminster during the summer he still has some of those trappings,” he said, mocking Trump for building an office at Mar-a-Lago similar to the Oval Office. “The replica Resolute Desk in Mar-a-Lago and all the rest of those things are things that are assuaging, you know, his disappointment and his disbelief that he’s not the president anymore.”