New York Times: “The revised indictment added three serious charges against Mr. Trump: attempting to ‘alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal evidence’; inducing someone else to do so; and a new count under the Espionage Act related to a classified national security document that he showed to visitors at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.” The Hill: “Trump now faces a total of 40 criminal counts in the case — three more than he did previously — after prosecutors added allegations that Trump pushed to delete surveillance footage at Mar-a-Lago and willfully retained an additional sensitive document.” Politico: “The additional charges are another stunning chapter in prosecutors’ case against the former president, who has repeatedly professed that he ‘quickly’ shared all security camera footage from his estate with the government.”
https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-2020-election-probe/index.html Prosecutors argue against Trump team’s push to discuss classified information at his homes From CNN's From Katelyn Polantz Donald Trump's lawyers want to be able to discuss classified information with the former president at his homes as part of his criminal case, for convenience's sake, according to a new court filing from the Justice Department — a proposal that federal prosecutors strongly oppose as out of line with how sensitive information can be handled. Prosecutors in the classified documents case want Trump and his lawyers only to work with and talk about classified details in his case inside a specially protected room, called a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF. But the DOJ said on Thursday that Trump's team "expressed concerns regarding the inconvenience posed by this limitation and requested that Defendant Trump be permitted to discuss classified information with his counsel in his office at Mar-a-Lago, and possibly Bedminster," according to a new court filing. "The government is not aware of any case in which a defendant has been permitted to discuss classified information in a private residence, and such exceptional treatment would not be consistent with the law." The dispute between the special counsel's office and Trump's defense team was made public in a court filing Thursday where the Justice Department explained why both sides haven't come to an agreement on how to protect classified evidence in the case before trial. Prosecutors have asked the judge, Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce, Florida, to mandate that classified information in the case can only be viewed, stored and discussed in controlled settings under the oversight of an appointed classified information officer. Trump’s team has not fully explained their position in court at this time, and the judge hasn’t weighed in. The DOJ said Thursday a "significant portion" of the classified information that the defense team will receive before trial is so highly sensitive it must only be viewed in a SCIF. Many of the records Trump is accused of mishandling are at the sensitive compartmented level as well. The filing was largely overshadowed on Thursday by the Justice Department securing expanded criminal charges against Trump and two of his employees in the case. Yet the arguments highlight the ongoing struggle the federal government has had with the ex-President regarding the handling of national security records. “Defendant Trump’s personal residences and offices are not lawful locations for the discussion of classified information, any more than they would be for any private citizen. Since the conclusion of Defendant Trump’s presidency, neither the Mar-a-Lago Club nor the Bedminster Club has been an authorized location for the storage, possession, review, display, or discussion of classified information,” prosecutors wrote in the court filing Thursday. “It is particularly striking that he seeks permission to do so in the very location at which he is charged with willfully retaining the documents charged in this case.” 3 hr 59 min ago Presidential candidate Will Hurd says Trump is a "national security risk" From CNN's Brian Rokus Will Hurd, a Republican presidential hopeful, reacted to tonight’s new charges against Donald Trump by saying the former president’s actions are “spitting in the face” of those who protect the United States. “If you are deleting evidence, it’s because you know you’re committing a crime. And anybody who supports this, anybody who defends this, is complicit in endangering America,” Hurd told CNN's Abby Phillip, adding that he believes Trump is running for president to stay out of jail. “He’s more worried about not dying in prison than he is in doing what’s right for the country,” Hurd said. Hurd also attacked Trump for not explaining what kind of security was in place to protect the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. “Donald Trump is a national security risk,” Hurd said, noting the international optics of the situation. “You know who is laughing right now? Our adversaries,” Hurd said. “This is a level of criminality we haven’t seen before, maybe Richard Nixon,” Hurd added. 4 hr 1 min ago Ex-Trump intelligence chief says improper handling of classified documents comes with "deadly consequences" From CNN's Piper Hudspeth Blackburn Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Thursday he didn't have a direct conversation with Donald Trump about handling classified information during his presidency – but thought the former president’s staff would have addressed that with him. Classified information, Coats told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, is “more than just a bunch of papers,” and he warned that improper handling of documents can have “deadly consequences.” “Lives can be lost, money can be misspent,” said Coats, a Republican. “Our adversaries are out there, searching, trying to get this kind of information, because they want to undermine us." Asked by Collins what he thought of Trump allegedly sharing classified information with individuals who do not have security clearances, Coats said that the information “is classified for a reason.” “It's so critical that we abide by the rules, and, obviously, those of us in high positions are surrounded by people who know that,” he said. Coats, a former US senator for Indiana, was DNI from 2017 to 2019. 4 hr 56 min ago What to know about the new charges in the classified documents case against Trump From CNN's Tierney Sneed and Jeremy Herb Special counsel Jack Smith expanded his classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, making significant new allegations that Trump and his employees attempted to delete Mar-a-Lago security footage sought by the grand jury investigating the mishandling of the government records. Here's what to know about the new charges in the classified documents case: Trump "requested" deletion of security footage: The indictment accuses Trump of being part of the effort to delete security footage from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, after it was subpoenaed, saying that Trump “requested” that a resort employee delete footage in order “to prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury.” Trump's alleged mishandling of an Iran attack: The new indictment brings the number of counts Trump faces for retaining national defense information to up 32, with prosecutors adding a new count to the 31 they previously brought for a classified document described by prosecutors as a top secret “presentation concerning military activity in a foreign country.” Trump allegedly touted the document – which CNN previously reported related to Iran attack plans – in a taped July 2021 interview with biographers at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. The new changes and details in the superseding indictment contradict Trump’s past denials about the document in question. Trump had previously denied that the document he discussed in the audio tapes was a government document, describing it instead as a news clipping. A new defendant: The new court filings lay out the role Carlos De Oliveira allegedly played in an attempt by Trump aide Walt Nauta and the former president made to delete footage that was being sought by a grand jury subpoena. De Oliveira, 56, was also charged with making false statements in a January interview with the FBI when he was asked about the movement of boxes at the Florida resort. Prosecutors describe the new defendant as Mar-a-Lago’s property manager who previously worked as a valet at the resort. After the FBI executed a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago last August, Nauta discussed with an unidentified employee De Oliveira’s loyalty, according to prosecutors, and requested that the employee confirm De Oliveira’s loyalty in a group signal chat with a representative for Trump’s political action committee. What happens next: De Oliveira is scheduled for an arraignment on the charges in Miami’s federal courthouse on Monday morning, set to take place before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres. It’s not yet clear how the new charges will affect the pace of the case against Trump and Nauta. Currently, the trial – which is slated to take place in Ft. Pierce, Florida, in front of US District Judge Aileen Cannon – is scheduled to start in late May 2024. But even before the new charges were unveiled, it was possible for that trial date to be pushed further back. Attorneys for De Olivera and Nauta have declined to comment. 6 hr ago A look into the timeline of the special counsel inquiry into Trump’s handling of classified documents From CNN's Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on August 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Department of Justice The federal criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents has escalated with additional charges against the former president. Here’s a timeline of the important developments in the blockbuster investigation: May 2021: An official from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) contacts Trump’s team after realizing that several important documents weren’t handed over before Trump left the White House. July 2021: In a taped conversation, Trump acknowledges that he still has a classified Pentagon document about a possible attack against Iran, according to CNN reporting. Fall 2021: NARA grows frustrated with the slow pace of document turnover after several months of conversations with the Trump team. NARA lawyer Gary Stern reaches out to another Trump attorney to intervene. The archivist asks about several boxes of records that were apparently taken to Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s relocation to Florida. NARA still doesn’t receive the White House documents they are searching for. January 18, 2022: After months of discussions with Trump’s team, NARA retrieves 15 boxes of Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago. The boxes contained some materials that were part of “special access programs,” known as SAP, which is a classification that includes protocols to significantly limit who would have access to the information. February 9, 2022: NARA asks the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s handling of White House records and whether he violated the Presidential Records Act and other laws related to classified information. February 18, 2022: NARA informs the Justice Department that some of the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago included classified material. NARA also tells the department that, despite being warned it was illegal, Trump occasionally tore up government documents while he was president. April 11, 2022: The FBI asks NARA for access to the 15 boxes it retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January. The request was formally transmitted to NARA by President Joe Biden’s White House Counsel’s office, because the incumbent president controls presidential documents in NARA custody. April 29, 2022: The Justice Department sends a letter to Trump’s lawyers as part of its effort to access the 15 boxes, notifying them that more than 100 classified documents, totaling more than 700 pages, were found in the boxes. Read more here: 7 hr 11 min ago New allegations contradict what Trump said about document from taped Bedminster meeting From CNN's Marshall Cohen New details in the superseding indictment against former President Donald Trump contradict his previous denials about the classified Iran attack plans that he flaunted during an audiotaped meeting at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The new charges filed by special counsel Jack Smith confirm that the document in question was indeed classified and about “military activity in a foreign country,” which CNN reported is Iran. Over the past few months, Trump has denied that the paper he showed to biographers at Bedminster in July 2021 was a government document and claimed it was merely a news clipping. “There was no document,” Trump told Fox News on June 19. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things.” “And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document, per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles,” Trump said in the interview. Trump previously pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him. 7 hr 13 min ago Trump rails against new charges as "election interference" and "prosecutorial misconduct" From CNN's Alayna Treene Former President Donald Trump railed against the latest charges filed by special counsel Jack Smith in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday, claiming they amount to "election interference at the highest level" and "prosecutorial misconduct." "They’re harassing my company, they’re harassing my family and by far, least importantly of all, they’re harassing me," Trump said in his first public comments since Smith brought additional charges in the case alleging he mishandled classified documents after his presidency. He also claimed that his position in the 2024 presidential election polls has made him a target of the Justice Department. "If I weren’t leading Biden by a lot in numerous polls, and wasn’t going to be the Republican nominee, it wouldn’t be happening. It wouldn’t be happening," Trump said. "But I am way up as a Republican and way up in the general election and this is what you get." Trump said that "our country is suffering from DOJ abuse," adding that, "Hopefully the Republican Party will do something about it." Some context: Legal drama surrounding the former president has never been more intense, as he has already been indicted twice this year and continues to face other legal challenges on multiple fronts. Trump has repeatedly dismissed the cases as politically motivated. In the classified documents case, prosecutors have laid out a narrative about how Trump allegedly conspired with employees to improperly keep documents — and how he allegedly requested that video evidence of their presence at his Mar-a-Lago resort be deleted. 7 hr 2 min ago Trump and his employees allegedly conspired to keep classified documents, indictment says From CNN's Devan Cole The new indictment details how former President Donald Trump, his aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira allegedly conspired to keep classified White House documents and “conceal them from a federal grand jury,” including by suggesting to one of the former president’s attorneys that he lie to investigators. The document lays out seven different ways the three defendants allegedly carried out the conspiracy, with prosecutors saying that they suggested that one of Trump’s attorneys “falsely represent to the FBI and grand jury that TRUMP did not have documents called for by the May 11 Subpoena.” The other aspects of the alleged conspiracy include moving boxes of documents to hide them from the attorney, FBI and grand jury, as well as suggesting that the lawyer “hide or destroy documents” called for in the May 2022 subpoena. Prosecutors also said the defendants were “attempting to delete security camera footage from The Mar-a-Lago Club to conceal the footage from the FBI and grand jury.” 7 hr 41 min ago A Trump employee charged with lying to the FBI allegedly told federal agents he "never saw anything" From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz Prosecutors allege that Carlos De Oliveira, an employee at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, falsely told federal investigators that he did not help move boxes of the former president’s belongings when they arrived at the resort in 2021. The allegation is part of the new charges in the case surrounding the former president's handling of classified documents after he left the White House. In a voluntary interview with FBI agents in January, De Oliveira allegedly falsely stated that he “never saw anything” being moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s presidency. “When — after the end of the presidency — boxes arrived to Mar-a-Lago, were you part of any group to help (move boxes)?” an agent asked, according to a transcript of the interview included in court documents. “No,” De Oliveira said, despite allegedly helping Trump aide Walt Nauta move boxes of classified documents around Mar-a-Lago after the Justice Department first subpoenaed Trump for classified documents last May. The agent later asked whether De Oliveira was ever “aware” that “all this stuff was being moved in?” “Never saw anything,” De Oliveira allegedly replied. The new indictment also alleges that Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira asked a Mar-a-Lago employee to delete security camera footage from the Florida club to keep that footage from investigators. 7 hr 53 min ago Trump "requested" deletion of surveillance footage at Mar-a-Lago resort, prosecutors say From CNN's Marshall Cohen Donald Trump “requested” that an employee at his Mar-a-Lago resort delete security camera footage at his Florida golf club “to prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury,” according to the new superseding indictment in the case surrounding his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. This is the basis of one of the new obstruction-related charges against Trump that were made public Thursday. Trump employees Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira are also charged with this crime. 7 hr 56 min ago De Oliveira told Trump employee "the boss" wanted server deleted, indictment alleges From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Tierney Sneed Boxes of documents are stored inside the Mar-a-Lago Club's White and Gold Ballroom in this photo included in Donald Trump's federal indictment. US District Court of the Southern District of Florida Former President Donald Trump's employees Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira attempted to delete security camera footage after the Justice Department issued a subpoena for the video, prosecutors allege in an indictment stemming from the Trump classified documents investigation. De Oliveira — a maintenance worker at the resort — told another Trump employee, who was director of IT at the Mar-a-Lago Club, “that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted,” according to the indictment. The unnamed Trump employee, identified as Employee 4, responded that he would not know how to do that and did not believe he would have the rights to do that, and that De Oliveira would have to reach out to a supervisor of security for the Trump Organization, the indictment alleges. “De Oliveira then insisted to Trump Employee 4 that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted and asked, ‘what are we going to do?’” the indictment alleges. De Oliveira also asked the Trump IT employee how many days the server retained security footage, according to the indictment, and the employee responded he believed it was approximately 45 days. De Oliveira told the employee that the conversation “should remain between the two of them,” the indictment alleges. Nauta's trip to Mar-a-Lago: Prosecutors say one day after Trump’s attorneys received a draft subpoena from prosecutors in June 2022, Trump called De Oliveira. The following day, the subpoena was issued. Nauta, a close Trump aide, took an unexpected trip to Mar-a-Lago that weekend, according to the indictment, and met with De Oliveira shortly after he arrived. “At The Mar-a-Lago Club, Nauta and De Oliveira went to the security guard booth where surveillance video is displayed on monitors, walked with a flashlight through the tunnel where the Storage Room was located, and observed and pointed out surveillance cameras,” the indictment states. The new superseding indictment alleges that a little more than two weeks after the FBI’s August search of Mar-a-Lago, Nauta called another unidentified employee and said something to the effect of, “someone just wants make sure Carlos is good.” The employee, prosecutors alleged, assured Nauta of De Oliviera’s loyalty. On the same day, the employee confirmed in a Signal chat group with Nauta and a representative of Trump’s political action committee — whom CNN has previously identified as Susie Wiles — that the maintenance worker was loyal. That same day, "Trump called De Oliveira and told De Oliveira that Trump would get De Oliveira an attorney,” the new indictment says. 8 hr 4 min ago Trump charged with retaining a top-secret document about Iran attack plans From CNN's Marshall Cohen Special counsel Jack Smith has filed an additional charge against former President Donald Trump for willfully retaining a top-secret document about Iran attack plans, which he discussed with biographers during a taped meeting at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey in July 2021, according to the indictment. The indictment says the document was a “presentation concerning military activity in a foreign country” and that Trump showed it to the biographers during the meeting. The charging document doesn’t name the country, but CNN has reported the document was about Iran attack plans. 7 hr 44 min ago Read the new charges in the Trump Mar-a-Lago classified documents case From CNN staff Special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday brought additional charges against former President Donald Trump in the investigation into potential mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Smith also filed new charges against Trump aide Walt Nauta and added a new defendant, Mar-a-Lago maintenance employee Carlos De Oliveira, to the case. Read the additional charges below: 8 hr 24 min ago Special counsel brings additional charges against Trump in Mar-a-Lago classified docs case From CNN's Tierney Sneed, Marshall Cohen and Jeremy Herb Boxes of documents are stored inside a bathroom and shower inside the Mar-a-Lago Club's Lake Room in this photo included in Donald Trump's federal indictment. US District Court for the Southern District of Florida Special counsel Jack Smith has brought additional charges against former President Donald Trump in the case surrounding his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, according to the court docket. Trump has been charged with three new counts, including one additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts, related to alleged attempts to delete surveillance video footage at the Mar-a-Lago resort in summer 2022. According to a summary from Smith’s office, Carlos De Oliveira, a 56-year-old maintenance worker at the resort, has been added to the obstruction conspiracy charges in the original indictment. This post has been updated with the details of Trump's new charges. 6 hr 21 min ago Special counsel charges third defendant in Mar-a-Lago classified documents case against Trump From CNN's Tierney Sneed and Jeremy Herb In this aerial view, former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen on September 14, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Special counsel Jack Smith has charged a third defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, in the investigation into Donald Trump's handling of classified documents after his presidency, according to court files. The former president has pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges related to the documents, which were allegedly mishandled when they were taken to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after Trump left office. Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, has also pleaded not guilty to multiple counts related to the mishandling of documents at Mar-a-Lago, including several obstruction and concealment-related charges. De Oliveira has been added to the obstruction conspiracy charges in the original indictment and has also been charged with lying to the FBI about moving boxes at Trump's golf club, according to Thursday's court filing. John Irving, a defense attorney for De Oliveira, has declined to comment. Who is the new defendant? De Oliveira was the maintenance worker who helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents around Mar-a-Lago after the Justice Department first subpoenaed Trump for the documents last May. CNN has previously reported that surveillance video turned over to the Justice Department showed Nauta and De Oliveira moving document boxes around the resort, including into a storage room just before Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran searched it for classified documents. Justice Department officials came to Mar-a-Lago the day after Corcoran’s search, and Corcoran handed over 38 classified documents he had found. Yet the FBI retrieved more than 100 more classified documents when it searched Mar-a-Lago in August, both in the storage room and Trump’s office. De Oliveira spoke to investigators earlier this year and his phone had been seized. Trump team reacts: In a statement, a spokesperson for Trump called the development another "desperate and flailing attempt" by the Biden administration and Justice Department "to harass President Trump and those around him." "Deranged Jack Smith knows that they have no case and is casting about for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt and to get someone other than Donald Trump to run against Crooked Joe Biden," wrote the representative, Steven Cheung. This post has been updated to include a statement from a Trump spokesperson and details about De Oliveira's alleged role in the events. Alayna Treene and Kristen Holmes contributed reporting to this post. 8 hr 57 min ago Grand jury in 2020 election interference probe convened for more than 6 hours on Thursday From CNN's Casey Gannon The grand jury investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election has finished meeting for the day. CNN saw the jurors and a prosecutor working for special counsel Jack Smith exit the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, at around 5 p.m. ET, after convening for more than six hours. The grand jury has been meeting regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it is unclear the next time it will meet. Earlier Thursday, a court official said that there will not be any grand jury indictment returns today in the federal court in Washington, DC. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and it's not clear what this means for the special counsel investigation. 10 hr 17 min ago No grand jury indictments expected from DC grand jury today, official says From Katelyn Polantz, Casey Gannon and Holmes Lybrand Media tents and television satellite trucks are set up outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. District Court House on July 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images There will not be any grand jury indictment returns today in the federal court in Washington, DC, according to an official with DC District Court. Grand jury proceedings are secret. It’s not clear what this means for the special counsel investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. Special counsel Jack Smith’s office has not commented. Earlier Thursday, a meeting between former President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers and Smith concluded without the former president’s team getting any guidance about timing of a possible indictment, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. 12 hr 6 min ago Election officials in states where Trump's team falsely claimed fraud have been interviewed as part of probe From CNN's Zachary Cohen Federal prosecutors have interviewed the secretaries of state for both Pennsylvania and New Mexico in recent months as part of the ongoing investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two sources familiar with the probe told CNN earlier this month. The interviews, which had not been previously reported, indicate that special counsel Jack Smith has focused on actions taken by former President Donald Trump and his allies in seven key battleground states as they sought to upend Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt met with prosecutors working with Smith in March, one of the sources said. Schmidt, a Republican, was asked about issues he encountered while serving as Philadelphia City Commissioner, including how misinformation about widespread voter fraud impacted him and other election officials at the time, the source told CNN. Schmidt was appointed to be secretary of the commonwealth earlier this year. New Mexico’s top election official, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, also met with federal prosecutors in recent months “to discuss matters related to the 2020 election,” according to the second source. Smith’s team has sent subpoenas to local and state officials in all seven of the key states – Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – that were targeted by Trump and his allies and where Trump’s campaign convened the false electors as part of the effort to subvert the Electoral College. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also spoke to federal prosecutors as part of the criminal probe. Benson said in an interview on CNN that prosecutors were focused, in part, on the impact of misinformation on election workers and the “threats that emerged from that from various sources.” Other officials from those states also have been interviewed by federal investigators as part of the special counsel probe, including Rusty Bowers, a former top GOP official in Arizona. Smith’s sprawling investigations has focused on multiple alleged election-stealing efforts, including pressure campaigns on local officials, a scheme to appoint fake electors and pushing then-Vice President Mike Pence to block Biden’s victory. Keep reading here. 11 hr 31 min ago Trump lawyers didn't argue facts of case but made broader appeal to special counsel, sources say From CNN's Kaitlan Collins Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social saying his lawyers met on Thursday to appeal to special counsel Jack Smith that "an indictment would only further destroy the country." Trump's attorneys went into their meeting with the special counsel Thursday not to argue the facts of the case against indicting Trump, but instead with a broader appeal that indicting him would only cause more turmoil in the country's political environment, two sources familiar with the meeting said. 12 hr 26 min ago Prosecutors have focused on an Oval Office meeting shortly after Trump lost the 2020 election From CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Zachary Cohen, Paula Reid, Sara Murray and Katelyn Polantz Special counsel Jack Smith’s team has signaled a continued interest in a chaotic Oval Office meeting that took place in the final days of the Trump administration, during which the former president considered some of the most desperate proposals to keep him in power over objections from his White House counsel. Multiple sources told CNN that investigators had asked several witnesses before the grand jury and during interviews about the meeting, which happened about six weeks after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Some witnesses were asked about the meeting months ago, while several others have faced questions about it more recently, including Rudy Giuliani. Prosecutors have specifically inquired about three outside Trump advisers who participated in the meeting: former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, sources said. Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello, declined to comment. A lawyer for Powell declined to comment, as did a lawyer for Byrne. CNN has also reached out to an attorney for Flynn for comment. What we know about the meeting: During the heated Oval Office meeting on December 18, 2020, outside advisers faced off with top West Wing attorneys over a plan to have the military seize voting machines in crucial states that Trump had lost. They also discussed naming Powell as special counsel to investigate supposed voter fraud, and Trump invoking martial law as part of his efforts to overturn the election. Shouting and insults ensued; the night ended with Trump tweeting that a coming gathering in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, to protest the election results “will be wild.” Among the witnesses questioned by the special counsel’s team was former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, who told the January 6 House select committee that he was patched into the December 18 meeting by phone after it had already devolved into a screaming match between Flynn, Powell and White House lawyers, according to a transcript of O’Brien’s deposition that was released by the panel. 12 hr 21 min ago Trump has already been indicted twice this year. Here's what to know about those cases From CNN's Dan Berman The legal drama surrounding former President Donald Trump, who is running for president in 2024, has never been more intense. Trump has already been indicted twice this year, and he continues to face legal challenges on multiple fronts. In New York, a hush money payment to an adult film star has resulted in his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury over his alleged role in the scheme – the first time in American history that a current or former president faces criminal charges. Then, in June, special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump on 37 counts related to the investigation of documents that were allegedly mishandled when they were taken to Mar-a-Lago in Florida after Trump left office. Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases. In the documents case, the National Archives, charged with collecting and sorting presidential material, had previously said that at least 15 boxes of White House records were recovered from Mar-a-Lago, including some classified records. Trump was also caught on tape in a 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the former president discussed holding secret documents he did not declassify. In the New York case, Trump was charged in Manhattan criminal court for falsifying business records related to his role in a hush money payment scheme involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels late in the 2016 presidential campaign. The former president surrendered and was placed under arrest April 4, before he was arraigned in a historic and unprecedented court appearance, at which he pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, accuse Trump of falsifying business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign. The indictment sent shockwaves across the country, pushing the American political system – which has never seen one of its ex-leaders confronted with criminal charges, let alone while running again for president – into uncharted waters. The $130,000 payment was paid by former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to Daniels to remain quiet about an alleged affair between Daniels and Trump years earlier. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated. Also in Manhattan, a federal jury found Trump sexually abused former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and awarded her about $5 million in the battery and defamation civil case. In Atlanta, a select grand jury has investigated the efforts by Trump and allies to overturn his election loss in Georgia in 2020. Read more about the legal challenges Trump faces here. 12 hr 51 min ago Trump says his attorneys had "productive meeting" with DOJ this morning From CNN's Kyle Blaine Former President Donald Trump arrives at New Orleans International Airport in New Orleans, Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Gerald Herbert/AP Former President Donald Trump said his legal team had a "productive meeting" with the Justice Department Thursday. In a post on the social platform Truth Social, Trump said his team explained "in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country. No indication of notice was given during the meeting." More background: Since receiving a letter from special counsel Jack Smith last week indicating he’s a target of the 2020 election investigation, the former president had argued against a meeting between his attorneys and Smith’s team because he believed the indictment was already a done deal, two sources familiar with his thinking said. This is the second time Trump is facing potential charges brought by Smith’s team. Before Trump was charged in Florida in Smith’s probe into the mishandling of classified documents from his White House, he also was notified by prosecutors that he was a target of that investigation. 11 hr 49 min ago Republican presidential hopeful says Trump's legal troubles will lead to defeat if he's nominated in 2024 From CNN's David Wright Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd speaks to guests at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off on April 22, 2023 in Clive, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images GOP presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd reacted to the latest developments in Donald Trump’s legal saga Thursday, warning Republicans that nominating Trump would mean defeat in the 2024 presidential election. “If the GOP nominates Donald Trump as our nominee to go against Joe Biden, then we are willingly giving four more years to Joe Biden,” Hurd said during an interview on CNN's "Inside Politics." Hurd, an outspoken Trump critic, said a potential third Trump indictment is “not going to change things” for his supporters, but he argued that “those independents, those general election voters, of course they’re going to be sick and tired of this.” And Hurd, who is challenging Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, argued Republicans would miss an opportunity to run a better candidate against an unpopular incumbent. There are independents and Democrats who previously voted for Biden but are frustrated with the Democratic Party, Hurd said, but they are not going to jump ship for Trump in the wake of potentially three indictments and the January 6 insurrection. "So, we are going to lose, and we'll continue this trend of Republicans losing the popular vote on national elections. It's been going on for 20 years,” he said. What other Republicans are saying: Rep. Den Crenshaw, a conservative Republican from Texas, said “of course” when asked by CNN whether he thought Trump’s legal troubles would hurt him in a general election. “It’s silly not to say,” Crenshaw said. “In a general election, yeah, it makes it tougher. … It is what it is." But despite those concerns, Crenshaw said he’s staying neutral in the race: “I don’t see any incentive to move out of the sidelines. Let voters do what they want to do.” Other conservatives predicted a third indictment would help Trump in the polls and downplayed his actions on January 6. Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the hardline Freedom Caucus, drew a direct link between Trump’s indictments and Republicans’ decision to pursue investigations into President Joe Biden – a further sign Republicans are using their majority to run political defense for Trump. CNN's Melanie Zanona and Haley Talbot contributed reporting to this post. 13 hr 20 min ago What to know about Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the Trump investigations From CNN's Zachary Cohen, Kara Scannell, Jeremy Herb, Katelyn Polantz and Chandelis Duster Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to deliver remarks on a recently unsealed indictment against former President Donald Trump at the Justice Department on June 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Attorney General Merrick Garland announced in November 2022 that Jack Smith would be the special counsel oveerseing the criminal investigations into the retention of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Smith is a long-time prosecutor who has overseen a variety of high-profile cases during a career that spans decades. His experience ranges from prosecuting a sitting US senator to bringing cases against gang members who were ultimately convicted of murdering New York City police officers. In recent years, Smith has prosecuted war crimes at The Hague. His career in multiple parts of the Justice Department, as well as in international courts, has allowed him to keep a relatively low-profile in the oftentimes brassy legal industry. In a statement following his announcement, Smith pledged to conduct the investigations “independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.” A career prosecutor: Smith began his career as an assistant district attorney with the New York County District Attorney’s Office in 1994. He worked in the Eastern District of New York in 1999 as an assistant US attorney, where he prosecuted cases including civil rights violations and police officers murdered by gangs, according to the Justice Department. As a prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York, one of Smith’s biggest and most high-profile cases was prosecuting gang member Ronell Wilson for the murder of two New York City police department detectives during an undercover gun operation in Staten Island. Wilson was convicted and sentenced to death, the first death penalty case in New York at the time in 50 years, though a judge later found he was ineligible for the death penalty. Moe Fodeman, who worked with Smith at EDNY, called him “one of the best trial lawyers I have ever seen.” “He is a phenomenal investigator; he leaves no stone unturned. He drills down to get to the true facts,” Fodeman said. Fodeman, who is still friends with Smith, said he is a “literally insane” cyclist and triathlete. Beginning in 2008, Smith worked for the International Criminal Court and oversaw war crimes investigations under the Office of the Prosecutor for two years. In 2010, he became chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department, where he oversaw litigation of public corruption cases. Lanny Breuer, the former assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Criminal Division who recruited Smith, said his onetime employee was “a terrific prosecutor” with a “real sense of fairness.” Read more about his career here. 13 hr 56 min ago Trump team in special counsel meeting included attorney from classified documents case and a recent addition From CNN's Kristen Holmes and Evan Perez The members of former President Donald Trump’s legal team who attended Thursday’s meeting with special counsel Jack Smith are John Lauro and Todd Blanche, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Lauro recently joined the team to handle matters related to the 2020 election and the run-up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Blanche has represented Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and the Manhattan criminal case stemming from a hush-money scheme. The former president was indicted in both cases. 13 hr 43 min ago From Mike Pence to "fake" electors: Here’s who has testified before the January 6 grand jury From CNN's Casey Gannon and Hannah Rabinowitz Republican presidential candidate former Vice President Mike Pence leaves a campaign stop at the Machine Shed Restaurant on June 8, 2023 in Urbandale, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images For months, federal prosecutors have brought witnesses in front of a grand jury in Washington, DC, to investigate efforts by former President Donald Trump and his close allies to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. The witnesses, several of whom appeared under subpoena, range from low-level aides to Trump’s own vice president. There are also several key witnesses who have met with prosecutors for interviews. Any indictment that comes from the sprawling probe into aftermath of the election, efforts to overturn the result or the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol will likely rely, at least in part, on what those individuals testified to under oath behind closed doors. Here’s who’s appeared before the grand jury: Former Vice President Mike Pence Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff Marc Short, former chief of staff to Pence, Greg Jacob, a former aide to Pence Former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone Patrick Philbin, Cipollone’s deputy Stephen Miller, a former White House speechwriter and senior adviser to Trump Former Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich Former White House aide Nick Luna John McEntee, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office and an aide to the former president Beau Harrison, an aide to Trump William Russell, a former White House special assistant and deputy director of presidential advance Michael McDonald, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party and was allegedly one of the fake electors appointed in that state Jim DeGraffenreid, another Nevada GOP official and Trump elector Gary Michael Brown, a Trump campaign election day operations official Ali Alexander, leader of the “Stop the Steal” group who helped to organize rallies before the US Capitol attack US Secret Service agents on Trump’s detail Read more here. 14 hr 21 min ago Special counsel Jack Smith attended meeting with Trump’s legal team today From CNN's Kristen Holmes Special counsel Jack Smith attended the meeting with former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the matter. The two teams met Thursday as a potential federal indictment looms, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. 14 hr 7 min ago Special counsel concludes meeting with Trump's lawyers without guidance about timing of possible indictment From CNN's Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene, Casey Gannon, Holmes Lybrand and Katelyn Polantz An exterior view of a US Department of Justice building that houses the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images A meeting between former President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers and the special counsel Jack Smith’s office has concluded without Trump’s team getting any guidance about the timing of a possible indictment, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Meanwhile, there has been more activity around the grand jury meeting Thursday at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC. The grand jury, which has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has reconvened at the courthouse after breaking for more than an hour. Also, several prosecutors from Smith’s office arrived at the courthouse, joining another prosecutor who arrived earlier this morning. 14 hr 34 min ago Trump's team hoped to delay a possible indictment by meeting with special counsel From CNN's Evan Perez, Jamie Gangel, Sara Murray and Tierney Sneed In seeking a meeting with special counsel Jack Smith’s team, former President Donald Trump’s lawyers hoped to at least delay any potential plans for a grand jury to hand up an indictment Thursday, people briefed on the plans said. The grand jury, which has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has convened at a federal courthouse in Washington, DC, today. Trump’s lawyers believe that if the grand jury does not approve an indictment Thursday, the meeting may buy the former president at least a few more weeks. The team also expected to discuss the logistics of how a potential indictment and arraignment of the former president would work, another source familiar with the legal team’s thinking tells CNN. Some context: Trump’s political and legal strategy has been to delay any possible trials — including until potentially after the 2024 election — and to put the Justice Department in an uncomfortable position where they are pursuing a prosecution of President Joe Biden’s chief 2024 rival even as primary voters are beginning to have their say. Every day they can push back the handing up of an indictment is a day that pushes back an ultimate trial date. 14 hr 33 min ago Trump's legal team met with the special counsel today as potential indictment looms From CNN's Kristen Holmes, Evan Perez, Jamie Gangel, Kaitlan Collins and Katelyn Polantz Former President Donald Trump's legal team met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith as a potential federal indictment looms, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Trump announced last week that he’d been named as a target of Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and events leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. This is the second time Trump is facing potential charges brought by Smith's team. Trump was charged earlier this year in Smith's probe into the mishandling of classified documents from his White House. He was also notified by prosecutors ahead of time that he was a target in the documents probe. His lawyers met with prosecutors from Smith's team around the time he was notified, and the classified documents indictment was then brought against him later that month. 14 hr 6 min ago What we know about the special counsel investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election From CNN's Dan Berman, Kaitlan Collins, Zachary Cohen, Paula Reid, Sara Murray and Katelyn Polantz Special counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors have been looking at the various ways former President Donald Trump tried to overturn his 2020 electoral loss despite some of his top officials advising him against the ideas. Prosecutors have been interested in a December 18 Oval Office meeting, a sign of the special counsel’s broader effort to home in on the actions of several Trump lawyers and allies during the period from December 14, 2020, to January 6, 2021. The December 14 date is of particular interest to prosecutors, sources told CNN earlier this month. On that day, slates of alternate Republican electors in seven battleground states signed certificates falsely asserting Trump had won. Also that day, members of the Electoral College met in all 50 states to officially cast their ballots, declaring Joe Biden the winner with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. Investigators have focused on efforts to recruit the illegitimate electors, have them sign certificates falsely asserting Trump had won, and then use them as a pretense to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to delay certification of Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6. At least one witness has told prosecutors that Trump allies asked Pence to question the legitimacy of Biden’s electors in those seven states based on unfounded claims about widespread voter fraud and kick the decision of certification back to the states themselves, one source said. Trump has been fighting to keep former advisers from testifying about certain conversations, citing executive and attorney-client privileges to keep information confidential or slow down criminal investigators.
“I am not a lawyer. But if you are deleting evidence, it’s because you know you’re committing a crime!” — GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd, on CNN.
Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb said the evidence against the former president over his handling of classified documents was now “overwhelming” and would “last an antiquity”, after new charges were filed in the case on Thursday, The Guardian reports. Said Cobb: “I think this original indictment was engineered to last a thousand years and now this superseding indictment will last an antiquity. This is such a tight case, the evidence is so overwhelming.”
Charging President Donald J. Trump is so unfair.....this should never have happened. We are a nation in decline. 'Ready to go': Fani Willis says her investigation into Trump is complete Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is ready to announce the outcome of her investigation into Donald Trump’s involvement in the effort to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia. “The work is accomplished,” she told CNN affiliate WXIA. “We’ve been working for two and a half years. We’re ready to go.”
Nice but why in the hell is she waiting until Sept 1st Major shout out to DA Bragg for having the balls to do it first.If he hadn't done Im not sure anyone else was willing to be the first to charge a president.Him setting the precedent makes it easier for others.
They want all these trials to happen in the election year. Its a coordinated effort to keep possible next US President off the trail The objective is not justice but to win re-election
By Federal law, once an indictment is filed and the defendant is aware of it, the case must proceed to trial within 70 days. Usually, the defense for celebrities and highly public individuals will ask for a few more months to prepare for defending their client. Prosecutors should be able to bring those indictments to trial before the spring of 2024. The RNC will have time to find a better candidate to run in the 2024 Presidential Election. Essentially, if Trump is stupid enough to continue...other Republican candidates will roast him if he doesn't take a plea deal to shorten his prison sentence. There is a slim possibility, Trump could be the first person to win the RNC while serving a prison term. The RNC will then be forced to try to disqualify him, select the 2nd place runnerup, or have a run-off vote without Trump to see who will represent the GOP. Slim possibility Trump will just drop out of the RNC race after he has raised enough money from his idiotic supporters to defend his legal case and pay his legal fees. Essentially, I believe Trump is banking on the Supreme Court to get involved...making this chaos for the judicial system next year. Regardless, if Trump becomes a convicted felon and goes behind bars...he can still run for President of the United States (I'm not joking)... Embarrassing the entire U.S. criminal system and embarrassing the United States about the inequalities to the rest of the world. He'll then Pardon himself from prison as the United States President if he were to win the U.S. elections while serving time in prison or likely to serve his prison sentence (if convicted) under House Arrest as a U.S. President...but he will not be allowed to travel outside of the U.S. for meetings with other world leaders. His Vice President will assume those duties until Trump Pardons himself or completes his prison sentence while under House Arrest...I'm still not joking. The question now, which one of the other GOP candidates will take a knee to kiss the ring of Trump to be the next Vice President of the United States ? https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/06/trump-running-for-president-prison-00090931 P.S. There's a possibility that America will be so outraged about Trump winning the RNC that most of the country votes for the other person (Democrat or Independent) to prevent Trump as a convicted felon from serving as a U.S. President...a global embarrassment. wrbtrader