Topline
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team is considering letting federal agents return to Mar-A-Lago to conduct a supervised search, according to CNN, citing sources with knowledge of the discussions, as concerns persist Trump may still hold classified information.
Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort is seen on February 10, 2021 in Palm Beach, … [+]
Key Facts
The search is one of several options Trump’s lawyers are considering in an effort to ease legal pressure on the former president, according to CNN.
Such a move would mark an abrupt change in approach for Trump, who has repeatedly attacked the Justice Department’s investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified records as a politically motivated sham, in some cases suggesting without evidence that the FBI may have planted some of the documents recovered from Mar-A-Lago.
The FBI recovered more than 100 classified documents during an August 8 raid at Mar-A-Lago but Justice Department officials have reportedly told Trump’s team they believe he may still possess classified documents, which a May grand jury subpoena required him to turn over.
Trump has repeatedly claimed all the White House records he brought with him to Mar-A-Lago were declassified, a claim his attorneys have avoided making directly.
The former president’s office and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.
Key Background
Trump has been locked in a legal battle with the DOJ over the seized Mar-A-Lago records, in an attempt to shield the documents from prosecutors. He won a major victory in that battle last month when a federal judge granted Trump’s request for an independent “special master” to review the records to determine whether they should be withheld from prosecutors due to attorney-client privilege and executive privilege claims. But the special master—Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie—is only able to review records the government says are unclassified, after an appeals court excluded classified records from the review, and the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s request to let Dearie inspect them. Dearie has a November 12 deadline to complete his review but he scolded both prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys in a conference call Tuesday, saying they have not given him enough information to carry out his duties. “Where’s the beef? I need some beef,” Dearie told the lawyers.
What To Watch For
Justice Department prosecutors believe they’ve collected enough evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of justice over his alleged failure to comply with the subpoena for the records, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The DOJ and Attorney General Merrick Garland haven’t made a decision on whether to bring charges yet, according to Bloomberg, and any charges against Trump are not expected until at least Christmas.
Further Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Trump considers allowing federal investigators to search Mar-a-Lago again (CNN)
Supreme Court Rules Against Trump On Mar-A-Lago Classified Documents (Forbes)
Judge Sides With Trump, Grants Special Master To Review Mar-A-Lago Documents (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/10/19/trump-may-let-fbi-conduct-another-mar-a-lago-search-report-says/