Attorneys for Donald Trump achieved with Justice Department officials on Monday as a choice nears on whether to convey costs over the handling of labeled documents at the former president’s Florida estate.
The Trump lawyers two weeks in the past asked for a meeting with Lawyer Standard Merrick Garland to increase problems about what they alleged was prosecutorial misconduct and overreach by the staff led by distinctive counsel Jack Smith. But a defense attorney meeting with Justice Section officials is also often used as an prospect to try out to persuade them against bringing criminal expenses.
A trio of Trump attorneys — James Trusty, John Rowley and Lindsey Halligan — exited the Justice Section constructing in Washington on Monday early morning soon after much more than an hour inside. They acquired into a black sport utility car or truck and did not reply to reporters’ questions.
It was not promptly crystal clear who from the Justice Office attended the meeting. Spokespeople for Smith and the Justice Division had no instant comment on the meeting.
Just after it ended, Trump posted on his Reality Social platform in funds letters: “How can DOJ probably demand me, who did nothing mistaken” when no other presidents have been charged. He referenced the investigation into his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton, which ended with out prison charges, and a separate ongoing probe into the presence of classified files at an place of work and house of President Joe Biden. And he characterized it as a “witch hunt.”
Contrary to in the Trump investigation, however, Biden’s representatives at first alerted the Justice Department to the discovery of categorised files and consented to voluntary FBI lookups. The FBI in the Trump investigation obtained a research warrant in August and recovered about 100 more classified files from Mar-a-Lago.
The investigation into the probable mishandling of categorised files at Mar-a-Lago is considered to be in the vicinity of its conclusion, with a charging decision very likely quickly. Prosecutors have placed a wide cross-segment of witnesses, together with legal professionals for Trump and near aides, in advance of a grand jury.
Other than the Mar-a-Lago investigation, Smith is major a separate probe into endeavours by Trump and his allies to undo the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election.
It’s not apparent when or if costs could be brought.
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Observe Eric Tucker on Twitter at
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