Donald Trump’s legal team was recently alerted by the Justice Department that he is the subject of a federal investigation into his handling of classified documents after he left office.
It is still unknown when Mr. Trump’s team was informed that he was the subject of the special counsel’s investigation. Still, the notice appeared to indicate that Mr. Smith’s investigators were nearing the end of their work and were preparing to file an indictment.
Trump Found with Over 300 Classified Documents
Prosecutors stated in court records from last year that they were investigating if Mr. Trump had vἰolated regulations controlling the handling of national security documents and whether he had resisted government efforts to get them.
At Mar-a-Lago, his private club and home in Florida Mr. Trump was discovered to have more than 300 documents with classified markings. Those were found there during a search by F.B.I. agents two months after the former president’s lawyers said a thorough search had not turned up anymore.
Notifying a possible defendant that they are a target is a formal means to say that they are the subject of a crἰminal investigation and it frequently comes before charges are brought. The notification normally gives defense attorneys the opportunity to ask for a meeting with prosecutors to present their cases.
James Trusty, John Rowley and Lindsey Halligan, three of Mr. Trump’s attorneys met for nearly two hours on Monday, June 5, 2023 with Mr. Smith and other Justice Department officials in what people close to Mr. Trump described as a final attempt to avoid charges.
Taylor Budowich, one of Mr. Trump’s former spokesmen was among the witnesses who showed up in front of a federal grand jury in Miami on Wednesday, June 7 as it continued to hear testimony in the case of the document.
The day was very tense for Mr. Trump’s assistants and advisors. John Solomon, a right-wing journalist who represents Mr. Trump at the National Archives wrote a piece suggesting that prosecutors were imminently moving toward charging Mr. Trump as Mr. Budowich finished his grand jury hearing.
However, when asked if he had been informed that he was the subject of a federal investigation, Mr. Trump dodged the question saying “You have to understand” that he was not in contact with the investigating team. Then he said once more “It’s not true” that he was informed he would be indicted.
Mr. Trump wrote:
“No one has told me I’m being indicted and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done nothing wrong, but I have assumed for years that I am a Target of the weἀponized DOJ & FBI.”
Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff who is considered a crucial witness testified before a federal grand jury as part of Smith’s ongoing investigations into the former president’s handling of classified documents and his attempts to rig the 2020 election.
Former Vice President Mike Pence who on Wednesday, June 7 announced his bid to unseat his former boss in the 2024 election said he doesn’t want to see Trump indicted when asked about the news that he is a target.
The Justice Department said that it will not file charges after concluding its investigation into the aIIeged improper handling of secret documents discovered at Pence’s residence.
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