FBI code name for Trump classified documents probe was 'Plasmic Echo,' court records show

Source: CNN Politics

Published 6:01 PM EDT, Mon April 22, 2024


CNN — Plasmic Echo – a name that could conceivably work for 1970s rock band or could describe the supernatural goo left behind by the ghosts chased in the movie “Ghostbusters” – appears to be the code name for the FBI investigation into the mishandling of classified documents from the Trump White House.

The name was revealed in unredacted court filings published on Monday in the special counsel’s criminal case against former President Donald Trump. A case file included in the documents is marked with the case ID “[Redacted] PLASMIC ECHO; Mishandling of Classified or National Defense Information.”

The file from February 24, 2022, is an FBI summary of information the bureau received from the National Archives about classified documents that were found in 15 boxes of materials that Trump had returned to the archives earlier that year. Several other FBI documents and emails in the court submissions also refer to the investigation as “Plasmic Echo.” The Justice Department declined to comment. CNN has also reached out to the FBI.

The name “Plasmic Echo” joins a list of other famed recent FBI investigations, including “Crossfire Hurricane,” involving Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election; “Midyear Exam,” regarding Hillary Clinton’s emails; and “Varsity Blues,” on the college admissions bribery scandal. Trump’s legal team submitted the case file among hundreds of pages of exhibits that it says support the former president’s efforts to obtain more records from the federal government in the case.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/politics/plasmic-echo-fbi-trump-mar-a-lago-investigation/index.html