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When we last checked in on the governments criminal investigation into Donald Trumps handling of classified documents after he left office, things did not appear to be going great for the former guy. For one, we learned last month that the Justice Department had uncovered significant evidence that Trump may have obstructed justice, which the ghost of Richard Nixon will tell you is never a good thing. For another, nearly everyone who works at Mar-a-Lagothe place where he was stashing the majority of the classified docshas been subpoenaed by prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith. And now, according to a new report, the shit has continued to hit the fan.

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The National Archives and Records Administration, according to multiple sources who spoke to CNN, is set to hand over tospecial counsel Jack Smith16 records that show Trump and his top advisers had knowledge of the correct declassification process while he was president. In a letter sent to Trump on Tuesday, NARAs acting archivist Debra Steidel Wall wrote, The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records.

Why is this bad news for the former POTUS? Because ever since the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago last yearand found more than 100 classified documents that were not supposed to be there, and which Team Trump had falsely claimed in a certification had been turned overTrump has claimed that he had the power to declassify them without going through the proper protocols or even mentioning anything to anyone. Hes said this on numerous occasions, but most notably when he told Sean Hannity he could declassify classified documentswith his mind. (Actual quote: There doesnt have to be a process [to declassify], as I understand itif youre the president of the United States you can declassify just by saying its declassified, even by thinking about it. There can be a process but there doesnt have to be.)

More recently, at last weeks disastrous CNN town hall, he falsely claimed to moderator Kaitlan Collins that government procedure allowed him to take whatever he wanted from the White Houseand in doing so, the items in question were automatically declassified.

I had every right to under the Presidential Records Act, Trump told Collins when she asked him why he took documents after he left office. You have the Presidential Records Act. I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified. (To be clear, that is not how any of this works.) Last year, following the raid, Trump also took to claiming that he had a standing order to declassify documentsbut more than a dozen administration officials said they knew nothing of said standing order, and that such a notion was ludicrous, ridiculous, and a complete fiction.

Anyway, as CNN notes, the 16 records NARA is preparing for Smith may provide critical evidence establishing the former presidents awareness of the declassification process, a key part of thecriminal investigationinto Trumps mishandling of classified documents. The records could also help reveal whether he willfully disregarded what he knew to be clearly established protocols, according to an individual familiar with recent testimony provided to the grand jury by former top Trump officials. Which is probably why, per Walls letter, Trump previously tried to block the special counsel from accessing the 16 documents in question. (In her letter, Wall informed the ex-president that Smiths office has said it is prepared to demonstrate with specificity to a court, why it is likely that the 16 records contain evidence that would be important to the grand jurys investigation.)

The records are set to be handed over on May 24, unless Trump gets a court to block them. And if we know the former guyand we think we dohes quite obviously going to try.

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Report: The National Archives Is Set to Hand Over Damning Evidence in Trumps Classified-Docs Case - Vanity Fair