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Donald Trump’s lawyers acknowledge the possibility of criminal charges against the ex-president and his aides in a new trial — as he and the DOJ prepare to meet the special master for the FIRST time
- On Monday, lawyers representing Donald Trump wrote a letter to the special captain who oversaw the investigation of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago
- They first said the former president could face criminal charges for his role in the saga
- They resisted some of the government and special captain’s requests, arguing that doing so could jeopardize future legal action.
- Trump’s and administration’s attorneys are scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing for Dearie at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Tuesday
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Donald Trump’s lawyers have admitted for the first time that the former president could face criminal charges for his actions with the Mar-a-Lago file store.
In a letter to Raymond Dearie, the special master – independent arbitrator – appointed to oversee the FBI’s investigation into the documents, Trump’s team expressed concern about the investigation on Monday.
Trump’s attorneys wrote that they do not want Dearie to compel Trump to “fully and specifically disclose a defense of the grounds of a subsequent indictment without such requirement being apparent in the court order” — a statement indicating that Trump or his aides face criminal charges.
The FBI is investigating how more than 300 classified documents ended up on Trump’s Florida estate and why they were removed from the White House rather than turned over to the National Archives upon his departure.
Donald Trump can be seen Saturday at a rally in Ohio. On Monday, his lawyers wrote to the special master, Raymond Dearie, explaining their requests for the investigation of the Mar-a-Lago documents.
Raymond Dearie, a veteran New York judge, has been appointed special master to oversee the Mar-a-Lago investigation
Documents related to Trump’s estate search warrant pictured on Aug. 18
Mar-a-Lago was ambushed by FBI agents on August 8
On August 8, a police car is seen outside the Florida estate
In January, the FBI seized the first batch of documents, and a second cache was taken in June. On August 8, while Trump was in Manhattan, agents searched the estate and took the remaining files.
Trump, 76, claimed he had established a protocol that automatically released any files he deleted from the Oval Office.
But on Monday, Trump’s lawyers preemptively prevented Dearie from asking about the classification rules.
They argued that Trump could be at a legal disadvantage if he answered questions about the alleged declassification system at this stage of the trial, and objected to Dearie’s request to “disclose specific information about declassification to the Court and the government.” .
Judge Aileen Cannon, the Florida judge who presides over the case and agreed to the special lead review of the trial, has ordered Dearie to complete his analysis of the approximately 11,000 documents by the end of November.
The preparatory conference is scheduled for Dearie on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
Trump’s lawyers said in their letter Monday that they “generally” agreed with the timeline, but wanted to discuss some changes during Tuesday’s hearing.
They also expressed concern that some parts of the case could be heard by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the judge who approved the FBI’s search warrant. The Trump attorneys argued that Cannon, a Trump appointee who appointed the special master, planned to have that trial through the special master trial, with Dearie’s recommendations eventually reported to her.
In their own file, the Justice Department did not elaborate on how Dearie should assess the classified documents.
They urged Dearie to contact the National Archives and Records Administration — the federal agency charged with maintaining and tracking government records — while he’s conducting the review, and suggested weekly reviews with both parties to establish a smooth running of the assessment process.