Blanche says documents were found in burn bags, but their placement suggests an agent may have saved them

By Madison Colombo Fox News
Published June 2, 2026 10:31am EDT

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed that the Department of Justice discovered a room packed with documents from former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump.

Speaking on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, Blanche said the room was not officially a "secret" but that personnel were unaware of it. His comments come after FBI Director Kash Patel and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also discussed documents discovered by investigators.

"We found a room like that at DOJ, a few months ago," Blanche said. "It's not fair to say it was a secret room, but it's a room that had a lot of material in it."

Blanche added that the documents were found in "burn bags," which are typically used to destroy sensitive documents for security purposes. He said while it’s not uncommon to use these types of bags to get rid of sensitive information, where it was left led him to believe an "honorable" agent may have been trying to preserve it.

"It's not the existence of a burn bag that I think is interesting or problematic depending on which side you're on," Blanche said.

"This one was in a place where I get the point that an honorable FBI agent might have left it there because it was not where it would normally be to be destroyed," he added. "[We] kind of stumbled on it, but it looked almost intentional."

In April, Bongino revealed to Hannity that they’d found a "mother lode" of documents tied to the "Russiagate" investigation that he alleges were meant to be destroyed.

"That was basically the keys to the kingdom on Crossfire. And the document was so sensitive, we were not even to carry it outside of the office," Bongino said.

"I'm reading this document, and I'm like, ‘I can't believe this happened in the United States.’ It wasn't just that it happened in the United States, it was that so many people knew about it," he said. "All you had to do was read it. This thing was bulls--- from the start."

Bongino said the roughly 100-page document reshaped his understanding of the probe. He said he was "scared" by how many people were involved and did not speak up.

"Crossfire Hurricane" was the FBI’s probe into potential collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia. In July 2025, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard alleged the Obama administration promoted a narrative about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that she said officials knew was wrong.

Madison is a writer for Fox News Digital on the Flash team.
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