Donald Trump’s lawyers have demanded a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of slowing.
Trump mailed the letter to his Social platform of truth Tuesday, during which his lawyers claimed he was “treated unfairly”.
Lawyers John Rowley and James Trusty requested the meeting to discuss “the continuing injustice perpetrated by your special advocate and his prosecutors”.
It wasn’t immediately clear what specifically prompted the letter, but it comes right after the The Wall Street Journal reported that the year-long investigation of the documents seems to be coming to an end.
Trump has yet to be charged in connection with the handling of classified documents and the raid on his Mar-a-Lago Florida home.
Trump lawyers have demanded a meeting with AG Merrick Garland as an investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents appears to be nearing completion
What specifically prompted the letter was not immediately clear, but it comes just after the Wall Street Journal reported that the year-long investigation into the documents appears to be coming to an end.
The letter’s language echoed some of Trump’s own complaints in recent months about investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly,” the attorneys wrote in the letter.
“We request a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the ongoing injustice perpetrated by your special advocate and his prosecutors.”
The letter’s language echoed some of Trump’s own complaints in recent months about investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Smith has finished collecting evidence on how confidential presidential records ended up at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said Trump allies expected an indictment to be served.
Smith finished collecting evidence on how confidential presidential files ended up at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort
The investigation aims to determine whether Trump illegally retained classified documents taken with him from the White House to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
It’s not uncommon for defense attorneys to seek meetings with senior Justice Department officials to oppose possible indictments by their clients, though it’s unusual for such meetings to include the attorney general. , reported the Associated Press.
Special advocates enjoy a large degree of autonomy within the Justice Department, and officials have repeatedly pointed out that the recommendation of whether or not to pursue charges against Trump or anyone else in the investigation rests with Smith and his crew.
The investigation aims to determine whether Trump illegally retained classified documents taken with him from the White House to his home in Florida after his term ended and whether he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the records.
Smith’s work examines whether anyone tried to sabotage the criminal investigation or whether Trump illegally possessed documents he should have turned over to authorities.
But it’s unclear if the lead attorney has gathered enough evidence for Garland to charge the ex-commander-in-chief with a crime.
Smith is also investigating the attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election.
The FBI seized 11,000 documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in a court-approved search on August 8, including about 100 marked as classified
The FBI seized 11,000 documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in a court-approved search Aug. 8, including about 100 marked as classified.
Some have been designated top secret, the highest level of classified information.
The department began its investigation after the National Archives, the US agency responsible for preserving government records, tried to get Trump to return missing government assets and received 15 boxes containing mixed classified documents.
Trump has accused the Justice Department of engaging in a partisan witch hunt and claims the documents he took were part of his personal files and were declassified when he left office.
Trump appeared virtually in a Manhattan court on Tuesday for a hearing in another case. He faces more than 30 counts related to alleged silent payments to help keep an affair with Stormy Daniels a secret.
Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges and said the case was a political witch hunt.
A judge reminded him not to publicly share the evidence in the case.
