Federal prosecutors notified former President Donald J. Trump’s legal team that he was the target of their investigation into his handling of classified documents after he left office, according to two people familiar with the matter. with this problem.
The fact that prosecutors from the office of special counsel Jack Smith informed Mr. Trump’s team is the clearest signal yet that the former president is likely to face charges in the investigation.
It was not immediately clear when Mr Trump’s team was informed that he was the target of the special counsel’s investigation, but the announcement suggests that prosecutors working for Mr Smith had completed the bulk of their investigation. They are moving forward with indictment.
In a court filing last year, prosecutors indicated that they were looking into whether Trump violated laws governing the handling of national security documents and whether he obstructed the government’s efforts. government to get them back or not.
Mr. Trump was found to have more than 300 documents with classified signs at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and Florida residence, including some found there by FBI agents two months after the former president’s attorneys The system said a diligent search was fruitless.
Notifying a potential defendant that they are a target is a formal way of indicating that the person is the direct focus of a criminal investigation and often before a charge is filed. This announcement often opens the door for defense attorneys to request a meeting with prosecutors to give their views on the story.
On Monday, three of Trump’s attorneys — James Trusty, John Rowley and Lindsey Halligan — met for almost two hours with Mr. Smith and others at the Justice Department in what people close to Mr Trump describe as a last-ditch effort to thwart the charges and warn top prosecutors of what they believe to be misconduct. in Mr. Smith’s investigation.
On Wednesday, witnesses continued to appear before a federal grand jury in Miami, which is hearing evidence in the document case – among them is Taylor Budowich, one of Mr.
Mr. Trump’s aides and advisers spent the day in a state of high stress. As Mr. Budowich completed his grand jury appearance, John Solomon, a conservative journalist who was one of Mr. Trump’s representatives to the National Archives, published an article claiming that prosecutors Trump’s prosecution is “imminent”.
The New York Times contacted Mr. Trump directly to ask if he was actually told he would be prosecuted, and he said that was “not true”.
But when asked if he had been told he was the target of a federal investigation, Mr Trump did not respond directly, saying “you have to understand” that he did not communicate directly with prosecutors. pellets. He then repeated that it was “not true” that he had been told he would be prosecuted.
A short time later, Mr. Trump, then at his club in Bedminster, NJ, posted a notice rebutting Mr. Solomon’s claims on his social media platform.
“Nobody told me I was being prosecuted,” Trump wrote, “and I shouldn’t be prosecuted because I DID NOTHING wrong, but I have assumed for years that I am a DOJ & FBI Target LET WEAPONS.”
Most of the investigative documents were conducted by a grand jury sitting in Washington, which has heard from multiple witnesses over the past several months, including some of Mr. at Mar-a-Lago and more than 20 members of its Secret Service security detail.
Only a handful of witnesses – including several Mar-a-Lago employees – had appeared before grand jury in Miami, seems to have started hearing evidence last month, according to people familiar with its operations. It remains unclear how many witnesses are expected to testify before the Miami grand jury.
Recently, there have been indications that the grand jury in Washington has expired or paused hearing testimony, according to several people familiar with its operation. Some said the last witnesses to appear for questioning in Washington did so in early or mid-May.
Ultimately whether prosecutors should indict Mr Trump – an outcome he and some of his advisers say is likely – remains an open question whether Mr. whether to file charges in Washington, Miami or both cities.
The special counsel’s office is also conducting a separate investigation into Mr. Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. The status of that investigation seems to lag slightly behind the case of classified documents.
Mr. Trump has been indicted in New York by a local prosecutor in a money hiding case and is being scrutinized by a Georgia prosecutor over his failed bid to overturn his election in New York. that state by 2020.
Federal prosecutors appear to be still gathering evidence in Wednesday’s document investigation. Mr. Budowich appeared in the Miami courthouse around 9 a.m. to answer an hour or two before the jury.
One question prosecutors are interested in asking is the statement Trump had his aides draft up shortly after it was revealed by National Archives officials. recovered 15 boxes of materials from him in January 2022. Mr. Budowich was Mr. Trump’s spokesman at the time.
The statement Mr. Trump initially wanted to send, according to two people briefed on the matter, said he had returned all presidential documents he had. A draft has been written, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors had that manuscript and questioned witnesses about emails aides sent about it, according to people briefed on the matter.
The argument in the draft statement that Mr. Trump had returned all government records in his possession turned out to be untrue. After discovering that 15 boxes contained highly sensitive documents, prosecutors issued subpoenas demanding the return of any classified documents still in Trump’s possession. Mr. Trump’s lawyers later turned over more, but a subsequent FBI search found more.
The statement that Mr. Trump actually sent out after returning 15 boxes in early 2022 does not claim that he returned all government documents in his possession.
After the grand jury presentation was over, Mr Budowich posted a message on Twitter saying he had answered “all questions honestly.” He described the investigation as “a bogus and deeply troubling attempt to use government power to ‘catch’ Trump.”
His attorney, Stanley Woodward Jr., declined to comment.
While many of the central events in the documentary investigation occurred in Florida – perhaps the most notable the quest for Mar-a-Lago last summer – the case was opened by national security prosecutors working outside the Department of Justice in Washington. Legal experts have debated which location would give prosecutors the best place to maintain criminal charges.
