Trump legal team to meet with Department of Justice
- Trump is under investigation for classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago
- It's one of several investigations into the former president
- Recent reporting suggests the DOJ could be close to bringing charges
FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023, while en route to West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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(NewsNation) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are meeting with the Department of Justice, according to NewsNation sources.
Trump’s legal team will be meeting with members of Jack Smith‘s team. Smith is the special counsel appointed to oversee an investigation into classified documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and Trump’s conduct leading up to the Jan 6. Capitol attack.
The meeting is one of several indicators Smith may be nearing the conclusion of the investigation and could be deciding whether to bring charges against the former president.
According to reporting from CNN, Smith’s team has obtained a tape where Trump discusses the documents in a way that suggests he knew he could not simply declassify them. Through the course of the investigation, Trump has claimed that, as president, he had the authority to declassify the documents and has not done anything illegal.
The tape, along with the decision to reconvene a grand jury, have led some to speculate Smith could be close to bringing charges against Trump. A report from lawyers and former prosecutors, based on publicly available information, said there is enough evidence to charge Trump under the Espionage Act, which deals with the disclosure of information important to national defense.
It’s also possible Smith may decide to charge Trump with obstruction of justice for his refusal to return the documents to the National Archives when requested.
A number of classified documents were found at Mar-a-Lago during an FBI search in 2022. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel to oversee the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest.
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Smith, accusing the special counsel of bias and calling him a “left-wing radical.”
The investigation is one of several the former president has faced. He has also been indicted on campaign finance charges in New York and was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a civil suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll earlier this year.
Trump is also the subject of an investigation in Georgia, where prosecutors are investigating whether he attempted to illegally interfere with the 2020 election.
