The Daily Fuckup

On Feb. 13, 2023, the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation was still open. That mattered because the case had not reached a public conclusion, and the Justice Department’s special counsel probe was still moving forward after its launch in November 2022.

By that point, the public record included a Feb. 10 report that Trump’s lawyers had recently turned over additional papers marked classified, along with a laptop belonging to a Trump aide and an empty folder with classification markings. The report said those materials had been provided to federal investigators in recent months, while prosecutors continued examining how government records were handled after Trump left office. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/91b5b16807b533b3ff27e9303aef38ae))

The special counsel named in the case, Jack Smith, had said on Nov. 18, 2022, that the investigations under his watch would not pause or flag and would move forward expeditiously and thoroughly. DOJ’s FOIA and archived materials also confirm the office’s records are maintained through its official library and archives. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith/pr/statement-special-counsel-jack-smith))

So the cleanest description for that date is simple: the Mar-a-Lago documents probe was still active, additional classified-marked materials had recently been turned over, and the matter remained unresolved. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/91b5b16807b533b3ff27e9303aef38ae))