Donald Trump's magnificent Mar-a-Lago estate has hosted some of the world's most famous and controversial figures over the years. Now, following an FBI search of the property, sources have revealed that the highly sensitive material recovered includes classified documents regarding Iran's military security and Chinese intelligence work. Let's take a closer look at the latest goings-on at the exclusive club and reveal some of the estate's biggest secrets, past and present. Click or scroll on for more...
Back in September, it was reported that FBI agents found a top-secret document describing a foreign government’s defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, when they searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022. Now, new information has come to light reportedly identifying some of the countries implicated. According to The Washington Post, anonymous sources "familiar with the matter" have revealed that at least one of the classified documents recovered from Trump's Florida property includes details of Iran's missile program. It's considered among the most sensitive pieces of information retrieved in the raid. The search came amid an investigation into the former president's handling of government documents.
Other classified documents uncovered at Mar-a-Lago are said to describe covert US intelligence work "aimed at China", says The Washington Post. Here, Trump is pictured in 2017 during his time in office, alongside China's President Xi Jinping. The scope of the documents regarding China and Iran is unclear, however, if these highly sensitive papers got into the wrong hands, the fallout could be catastrophic. Not only could any diplomatic efforts be derailed, but in some cases, agents could be placed at risk and sources compromised.
The Independent gave a full breakdown of what was taken in the FBI raid, and it included "over 100 classified" and, astonishingly, "nearly 11,179 government-owned documents". In the wake of the raids, Donald Trump’s spokesperson accused The Washington Post of "colluding" with the FBI after it reported that the former president kept details of a foreign country’s nuclear capabilities at his Mar-a-Lago home. Taylor Budowich, the former president’s communications director, took to Twitter saying that The Washington Post: "Continues to serve as the propaganda arm of the Biden administration, and instead of operating openly and honestly, they collude in never-ending leaks and lies at the expense of the integrity of the FBI and DOJ.”
However, not all the missing documents may be accounted for. An employee at the exclusive Florida estate, which is Trump's primary residence since leaving the White House, reportedly revealed to FBI agents that Donald Trump had asked for boxes of records on the property to be moved, both before and after he was served with a subpoena to return them in May 2022. The employee denied moving sensitive information, before admitting to relocating a number of boxes from a storage room at Trump's request.
What's more, proof of the removals was caught by surveillance cameras, according to The Washington Post. The aide in question, who has been interviewed by the FBI before, was purportedly captured on CCTV transferring the boxes from a storage area. It's said that the aide is answering questions but not officially cooperating with the investigation. The New York Times reported that the employee worked at the White House before leaving to work for Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Pictured here are redacted documents and classified cover sheets recovered from Trump's office during the August 2022 FBI raids.
It's the most compelling evidence to date in the case against Trump, who is being investigated for his handling of classified information, and could suggest a possible obstruction of justice by the former president. In response, a spokesperson for Trump has accused the Biden administration of: “colluding with the media through targeted leaks in an overt and illegal act of intimidation and tampering.” However, the question officials will be asking is how many boxes could still be out there?
The raids in August 2022 came about after two unnamed sources confirmed that former president Donald Trump brought extremely sensitive presidential documents to his Florida resort, according to reports by The Washington Post. They say that records taken from the White House were clearly labeled as 'classified' and 'top secret', sparking questions over whether Trump has broken the law through his handling of sensitive government documents.
Pictured here, aids carry boxes to Marine One before the then-outgoing President Trump departed the White House at the start of 2021. Previously reported by The Washington Post, officials from the National Archives and Records Administration removed 15 boxes of White House records from Mar-a-Lago in January 2022. Under the Presidential Records Act, the documents are the property of the US government and should’ve been turned over when Trump left office in January 2021. Advisors for the former president denied that there was any nefarious intent behind the delayed transfer of records.
As previously reported, former president Donald Trump brought a lawsuit against the Justice Department over the searches they conducted on his Florida property in early August 2022. 11 sets of classified information were removed from his Mar-a-Lago residence during the raids. The suit, which was filed on 22 August, requested that the FBI be prevented from reading the seized documents until a neutral court official, known as a special master, was appointed.
In the 27-page lawsuit, Trump's legal team argued that the purpose of the search was "simply wanting the camel's nose under the tent so they could rummage for either politically helpful documents or support efforts to thwart President Trump from running again". The document labeled the raid as a "shockingly aggressive move". A Department of Justice spokesperson issued a statement in the wake of the lawsuit, insisting that the "search warrant at Mar-a-Lago was authorized by a federal court upon the required finding of probable cause".
According to the BBC, on Thursday 15 September US federal judge Raymond Dearie has now been chosen to review the files seized in the FBI's search. Dearie will be the 'special master'—an independent lawyer who decides if any of the records are covered by attorney-client or executive privilege—and decide whether any documents are off limits in any legal proceedings. US federal judge Aileen Cannon appointed Dearie and also ruled that the Department of Justice was not allowed to resume the review of the files. But now in another countermove, the federal appeals court has said that the justice department can resume its use of the classified records in the ongoing criminal investigation.
Returning to his Mar-a-Lago home following the FBI’s raid in August, Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday 19 September, writing: “Arrived in Florida last night and had a long and detailed chance to check out the scene of yet another government ‘crime’, the FBI’s Raid and Break-In of my home, Mar-a-Lago,”. “I guess they don’t think there is a Fourth Amendment anymore, and to them, there isn’t. In any event, after what they have done, the place will never be the same.” Going on to say that it “was ‘ransacked,’ and in far different condition than the way I left it,” he said that FBI agents “didn’t even take off their shoes in my bedroom.”
The Epoch Times reported that while the agents searched his home, Trump and family members watched them via CCTV cameras from New York. Thanking his supporters, Trump also wrote: “Thank you to all of the many people who greeted me last night on my way from the Airport to Mar-a-Lago. I will never forget the great people of this Country. MAGA!!!” During the raid, the former president has also claimed the FBI took his medical records, tax documents, and even passports.
In another blow, Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and three of his adult children on Wednesday 21 September. As the BBC reports, “on claims they engaged in years of financial fraud to secure favorable loans, tax benefits and other economic advantages.” The civil lawsuit alleges misconduct across almost two dozen Trump-owned properties in the US and overseas, including Mar-a-Lago, which was converted to a members-only social club in 1994. The court filing states that Trump made the change because he worried the property was too expensive to use, preserve or sell for residential use. Yet his valuations treated the land as "an unrestricted home to 'be sold to an individual', rather than the heavily encumbered historical landmark restricted to club usage that it was", the suit claims.
Despite being Trump’s main residence post-presidency, the BBC reports, Trump signed deeds that gave up residential development rights and restricted changes to the estate. The lawsuit claims that Attorney General Letitia James' (pictured) office found that this false premise backed up valuations from 2011 through to 2021, with the property's value peaking at an incredible $739 million. "In reality, the club generated annual revenues of less than $25 million and should have been valued at closer to $75 million," the plaintiffs claim.
In another twist, The Guardian reports that since the FBI’s discovery of nuclear secrets among other highly classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, former intelligence officials have warned that Trump’s Florida residence is “a magnet for foreign spies”. Amongst the documents found there were also papers marked ‘SAP’, for Special-Access Programmes, which often detail US intelligence operations as well as others stamped ‘HCS’ (Humint Control Systems), involving intelligence gathered from agents in enemy countries. Trump denies any wrongdoing, arguing that as president he had declassified all the documents, and that they were kept securely at his Mar-a-Lago home.
Commenting on the FBI's findings, John Brennan, former CIA director, told MSNBC: "I know that national security professionals inside government, my former colleagues, [they] are shaking their heads at what damage might have been done". "I’m sure Mar-a-Lago was being targeted by Russian intelligence and other intelligence services over the course of the last 18 or 20 months, and if they were able to get individuals into that facility, and access those rooms where those documents were and made copies of those documents, that’s what they would do."
In August 2022, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project alleged that Ukraine-born Inna Yashchyshyn was able to mingle with Trump’s family and friends at Mar-a-Lago, posing as banking dynasty heiress Anna de Rothschild to gain access to the club. The "self-confessed grifter" even met and had a photo taken with the former president. While there is purportedly no evidence that Yashchyshyn was a spy, the incident highlighted how easy it is to enter the inner circle at Trump’s Florida estate.
The Guardian also reported that during Trump’s presidency, two Chinese women were caught trespassing on the estate on separate occasions. One of them, Yujing Zhang, was reportedly: "in possession of four mobile phones, a laptop, an external hard drive, and a thumb drive carrying malware. Investigators reportedly found nine USB drives, five SIM cards and a “signal detector” device for spotting hidden microphones or cameras in her hotel room". She was found guilty of unlawfully entering a restricted building as well as making false statements to a federal officer and deported to China in 2021. Seen here is CNN reporter Kaylee Hartung outside the courthouse in 2019.
Some political experts have suggested that the ongoing scandals could jeopardize Trump’s rumored plans to run for the White House again in 2024. According to the Post, the Justice Department has been asked to examine Trump’s handling of the records by the National Archives agency. Talking to The Independent, a spokesperson for Trump’s Save America PAC rebuked accusations of wrongdoing: “It is clear that a normal and routine process is being weaponized by anonymous, politically motivated government sources to peddle Fake News”. Former White House officials have also revealed that Trump had a habit of ripping up documents while in office.
The raids by the FBI on Monday 8 August, 2022 were "unprecedented" according to the BBC. The search was part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified ones, that may have been brought there, CNN reported. The former president confirmed that FBI agents were at Mar-a-Lago and said "they even broke into my safe." He was reportedly at Trump Tower in New York when the search warrant was executed. "My beautiful home, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," Trump said in a statement in August.
The FBI's search included examining where documents were kept, CNN reported, and according to another person familiar with the investigation, boxes of items were taken away. In the unprecedented search of a former president, the BBC reported former district attorney Wendy Olson as saying: "It’s hard to believe... that federal law enforcement... would take these extraordinary steps if there wasn’t substantial evidence."
Trump's youngest son, Eric Trump, reportedly alerted him to the raid, saying on an appearance on Fox News Hannity show: “I was the guy that got the call this morning. And I called my father and let him know that it happened.” Eric went on to say: "They do it for one reason, because they don’t want Donald Trump to run and win again in 2024 and, Sean, that’s what this is about today,” he said. In his statement, Trump also goes on to blame: "Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for president in 2024".
During the appearance, Eric Trump said his father had been cooperating with the National Archives as well as the investigation and felt there was no need for an unannounced raid. “You want to search for anything, if you think anything – like, you know, come right ahead,” he said on Hannity. “I mean, it was – it was an open-door policy and all of a sudden, 30 agents descend upon Mar-a-Lago?” In contrast to other reports The Telegraph has speculated that the raid could actually be a "gift" for Trump's 2024 election bid, as the "former president is now seen as the victim of an egregious attempt to politicize the justice system".
Mishandled government documents aren't the only dramas unfolding at Mar-a-Lago. Fit for a king, never mind an ex-president, Donald Trump has holed up at his magnificent estate since leaving the White House in January 2021. It boasts a fascinating and at times eyebrow-raising back story, so click or scroll through as we reveal the secrets hidden within its walls, past and present...
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According to the City Journal, Trump is said to have first heard about Mar-a-Lago from a taxi cab driver during a drive around Palm Beach, and knew there and then that he just had to have it. To the flashy real estate mogul, Post's winter retreat represented the ultimate trophy property. Trump initially offered the Post family $15 million for the estate.
The offer was rejected, so Trump decided to play tough. He purchased a beachfront parcel of land between the estate and ocean for $2 million. According to The Independent, he revealed plans to put a building up that would block the sea view from Mar-a-Lago, thus depreciating its value and putting off rival buyers.
Trump's audacious move had the desired effect. In 1985, the Post family agreed to accept just $8 million for the estate and all its contents. This is a fraction of what Mar-a-Lago cost to build in real terms and what it's estimated to be worth nowadays – Forbes valued the property at $160 million in 2018. The property magnate had landed the real estate bargain of the year, if not the decade.
When the Trump empire ran into financial difficulties in the early 1990s, Donald Trump worked out a way of turning his money-pit estate into a money-making juggernaut – by transforming it into a member's club. To win over the Palm Beach town council and gain permission for his venture, Trump promised to carry out a sensitive restoration of Mar-a-Lago, according to the Palm Beach Post. This would also allow him to claim a massive tax break in the form of a conservation easement.
Trump billed the club as open to all who could afford to sign up, unlike the two most established private members' clubs in Palm Beach, which, shockingly, barred African American, Jewish and LGBTQ+ people from joining. While Trump has been rightly applauded for this inclusive policy, some commentators say his motives were more about making as much money as possible and further ingratiating himself with the town council than anything benevolent. The town eventually granted permission for the club, though with some strings attached, which we will come to later.
Trump shelled out millions on the expensive restoration, which was given a big thumbs up by conservationists, and splurged on a number of additions to the property, including two swimming pools, a beauty salon and a spa, with the lion's share of the money going on a new 20,000-square-foot ballroom in the Louis XIV style. Trump is said to have spent $7 million gilding the palatial space and $100,000 a-piece on the gold basins in the bathrooms.
Interestingly, Post had iron bars installed on the windows and placed guards at the door of the Baby House following the Lindbergh kidnapping of 1932 and wouldn't allow her daughter to go anywhere without bodyguards in tow, up until her 18th birthday. In later years, guests including 'Lady Bird' Johnson stayed in the suite, and when Trump acquired the property, his daughter Ivanka got dibs on it, though these days she prefers staying in the Banyan Bungalow on the grounds.
Although the mega-mansion itself, which had gone from 118 to 126 rooms, was restored, some of its contents were sold off at auction and replaced with reproductions. Among the items that Trump offloaded were the jewel-encrusted marble dining table, antique Spanish rug, Louis XIV chests and Venetian glasses worth a thousand dollars each.
The club has welcomed a long list of celebrities over the years, including Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, who spent their honeymoon at Mar-a-Lago. Other stars who visited the club whether for pleasure or to perform at a function include Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, Tiger Woods, Billy Joel, Vanessa Williams, Liza Minnelli and Sylvester Stallone.
Laurence Leamer, author of Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace, recounts a story in his definitive book on the estate. In 2000, Trump hired top French chef Bernard Goupy, who wowed Celine Dion when she threw a baby shower at the club. Trump wasn't quite so impressed and fired Goupy not long after, having launched an expletive-packed tirade against his signature dish, a Caesar salad. The chef went on to work for Dion who renamed the dish 'Trump Salad'.
Trump doubled the joining fee from $100,000 to $200,000 after he became president, prompting CNBC to report allegations that he was seeking to profit from his position. Some reports suggest the fee, which was $50,000 back when the club opened in the 1990s, is now $250,000. Members are also required to stump up yearly membership dues of $14,000 and spend a minimum of $2,000 per annum on food.
The council's attorney reviewed Trump's residency in February 2021, coming to an agreement that he could stay. At the council meeting, a lawyer for the former president explained that Trump is a club employee, which means that he is within the decades-long agreement that states that no one can live at Mar-a-Lago unless they work there.
It's not only his security that has had to be downsized since his exit as president. A helipad, which was installed for the president on the lawn of Mar-a-Lago was removed when he lost the title of president. The helipad was the only one of its kind in Palm Beach, where there is a strict 'no helicopter' rule for its residents, granted as a special privilege to Trump during his term in the White House.
The number of members is estimated at almost 500 and, contrary to what you might think, the list isn't completely dominated by MAGA Republicans. They do make up a significant proportion, though, including several who were nominated by Trump for ambassador posts. The most notable left-leaning member, Democratic Party power broker George Norcross, gave up his membership.
In an interview promoting his book Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago and the Rise of America's Xanadu, writer Les Standiford mentioned that some people insist the ghost of Marjorie Merriweather-Post roams Mar-a-Lago's corridors. What Post would have thought of Trump is anyone's guess and although her daughter wasn't a fan, the scion's granddaughter Marjorie Post Dye praised him for preserving the property.
An Associated Press investigation conducted in 2017 found that Mar-a-Lago had been cited for 78 health code violations in the previous three years, with inspectors flagging up a range of issues that included chefs failing to wash their hands, dirty cutting boards, mold growing on the ice machine, as well as serving unsafe seafood and meat that had been improperly refrigerated.
Pictured here from the outside, the owner's suite contains the aforementioned Versailles Master Bedroom, an additional bedroom, the Pine Hall and the Louis XV hall, living rooms, bathrooms and offices. As well as searching for a school for Barron Trump and setting up an office at Mar-a-Lago to continue her 'Be Best' campaign, Melania Trump prepared for the family's move by overseeing the suite's expansion and revamp, opting for copious dark wood and white marble.
Working with her favorite interior designer, Tham Kannalikham, Melania updated some of the private quarters in her own modern aesthetic. According to a report by CNN, Donald Trump is said to have hit the roof when he saw the makeover. He reportedly ordered the immediate removal of the wood and marble. Here's how the master bedroom looked in the 1990s.
Trump visited the property 32 times during his presidency, spending a total of 142 days there. Mar-a-Lago was used for important government business and hosted meetings with world leaders, including China's Xi Jinping and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. But these trips didn't come cheap with four sojourns costing a whopping $13.6 million or an average of $3.4 million each.
According to reports from The Guardian, Trump billed the Secret Service more than $40,000 of taxpayers' money for accommodation for his own security team detail. Former presidents are provided with Secret Service protection for life, but not one to play by the books, there are no other examples of past presidents billing the Secret Service such a large amount.
When he left the White House to live at Mar-a-Lago on 20 January 2021, public records show that Trump charged the Secret Service $396.15 every night until 30 April. The charges are rumored to be for a single room at the resort that was used as a workspace for the Secret Service, which has been reduced from four or five rooms when he was president. However, costs for the single room have sky-rocketed, as Trump has spent much more time in Florida, rather than previously just visiting at weekends.
Reports from Palm Beach not long after Trump left the White House shone an unexpected light on Donald and Melania's curious dinner customs at the estate. Author Michael Wolff claims that the couple were "treated like zoo animals" because they eat alone at a roped-off table in the Mar-a-Lago club, under the watchful gaze of 50 or 60 tables of diners. Wolff also says that guests "rise from their seats to applaud the arrival of the former first couple to the dining area" each evening.
The Palm Beach Post also reported that Mar-a-Lago, which was known as the ‘Southern White House’ during Donald Trump’s presidency, was “likely would be a place for strategic planning if he were to run.” As a private members’ club, it is unlikely to be used as official headquarters. However, it's possible the meetings were to work out a plan of action for dealing with a surge in visitors to the island if Trump were to announce a second run for the White House. It's been reported that during his presidency, "his presence would result in an increased number of people coming and going from the area."
Of course, Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid has not been officially announced, however, law enforcement agencies near Mar-a-Lago have met at least twice to prepare, according to the Palm Beach Post. And while Trump has not announced a second run for the White House, he launched a political action committee, Save America, shortly after Biden won in 2020, fueling rumors he’s set to run in 2024.
The Palm Beach Post reported that the U.S. Secret Service called a meeting on 26 October 2021 with local law enforcement officials at Mar-a-Lago to discuss security arrangements in case Trump enters the 2024 presidential race, according to a source who attended the meeting. It was believed to be the second gathering to discuss the subject. However, when asked for details about the meeting, public information officers for the Palm Beach Police Department and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said they “had no knowledge any such meeting took place".
When it comes to a potential vice president, Politico reports "according to conversations with a dozen Trump advisers and close associates, the former president doesn’t feel bound by geographic or ideological considerations". While he's expected to make a decision after the 2022 midterms, he’s reportedly name-dropped Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as one possible running mate. He's also been seen at Mar-a-Lago with South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “They’re all begging me. They all come here,” Trump reportedly boasted to one adviser.
Yet, adding more fuel to the fire, the former president returned to Iowa on 9 October 2021. According to The Guardian it was “on the heels of a poll showing strong support in the state which traditionally kicks off presidential elections”. The Palm Beach Post reported that he spoke for more than 90 minutes, sharing a long list of campaign-style promises. Purportedly, he joked about a potential slogan but didn't go as far as announcing a re-election bid. Instead of “Make America Great Again,” he declared: “We’re going to take America back.”
It was also revealed that Trump was asking guests to stump up a pretty penny to attend his 'Take Back Congress Candidate Forum', hosted at Mar-a-Lago in February 2022. According to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, Trump was charging attendees to the event, which is aimed at the midterm elections in November, up to $250,000 for entry to the forum. For that hefty price tag, top-paying guests receive a photo and a private dinner for two with Trump, plus VIP seating and a two-night stay at the resort during the event.
The cheapest ticket for the forum came in at $5,000 per couple, and is said to cover "dinner with endorsed candidates and comments from President Trump". However, The Guardian reported that the earnings from the forum will be going towards Trump's own Super Pac, as opposed to those Republican candidates working to reclaim Congress. So far, the former president is said to have accumulated a staggering $122 million in his campaign war chest ahead of the midterm elections.
After social media posts about the Capitol riots in January 2021, Trump was permanently banned from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. On 20 October, CNBC reported that Trump is launching his own media network, Trump Media & Technology Group, amid a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. in order to “stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech.” The new company lists Mar-a-Lago as its address and TRUTH Social claims to be "America’s “Big Tent” social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology". Whether it will be a success or not, only time will tell.
Once one of Trump's most vocal political opponents, Senator Lindsey Graham has become one of the former president's advisors in more recent years. But the South Carolina Republican didn't win over former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who criticized the senator in her forthcoming memoir, I'll Take Your Questions Now. In an excerpt printed in Business Insider she dubbed him one of the 'hangers-on' saying: "It struck me that he was using Trump to mop up the freebies like there was no tomorrow. He would show up at Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster to play free rounds of golf, stuff his face with free food, and hang out with Trump and his celebrity pals."
A joint investigation by the House committees on Oversight and Veterans’ Affairs found that three members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort improperly influenced decisions at the Department of Veterans Affairs. ProPublica reported that associates from his private club pursued a plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs to monetize patient data, according to documents newly released by congressional investigators. Those accused included Ike Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment, attorney Marc Sherman, and Dr Bruce Moskowitz. Oversight Committee chairwoman Rep Carolyn Maloney and Veterans’ Affairs chair Rep Mark Takano alleged that the three men “violated the law and sought to exert improper influence over government officials to further their own personal interests”.
According to the Independent, emails obtained by the committee between Dr Moskowitz and then-Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin revealed that the group was taking efforts to cover up their activities, a move that would prove problematic after the Government Accountability Office found that the group constituted an official federal advisory committee under law and was therefore subject to records and transparency requirements. The results of the investigation could be the basis for the launch of an investigation at the Justice Department regarding potential breaches of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
The revelations emerged in an excerpt of Michael Wolff's new book, Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, which was released in July 2021. The political writer's third exposé on the former president, Wolff also claims that Donald Trump had been asking visitors at his Mar-a-Lago resort for recommendations for lawyers, in the wake of recent charges brought against the Trump Organization for tax crimes.
In more light-hearted news, guests at Mar-a-Lago reportedly got more than they bargained for on 4 and 5 February. The Florida club's members were sent a memo announcing that Donald Trump himself would be taking to the decks. The notice read: "Great music will be played during dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings, with President Trump playing the role of disc jockey".
It's not clear what songs Mar-a-Lago's club members were treated to when Trump took over the reins. However, the former president is said to be a fan of Elton John, while in the past, he's played songs ranging from Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' to the Village People's 'YMCA' during political appearances. We wonder what tracks made the former president's playlist...
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