Global Courant 2023-05-24 09:58:48
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Donald Trump have requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of winding down.
In the letter, which Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, attorneys John Rowley and James Trusty claimed Trump is being “treated unfairly” and called for a rally to “examine the ongoing injustices committed by your special counsel and his prosecutors”. .” The language echoed some of Trump’s own complaints in recent months about the investigations led by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith.
It was not immediately clear what the specific reason for the letter was, but years of document research seem to be coming to an end. Officers and prosecutors have heard a wide cross-section of witnesses, including lawyers for Trumpformer White House officials and other close associates.
The investigation seeks to determine whether Trump illegally kept hundreds of classified documents he took from the White House to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, after the end of his tenure and whether he attempted to thwart the efforts of the government to obtain the documents. back.
It is not uncommon for defense lawyers to seek meetings with senior Justice Department officials to contest potential charges against their clients, although it is uncommon for such meetings to have the Attorney General present.
Special counsel enjoys broad autonomy within the Justice Department, and officials have repeatedly indicated that the recommendation on whether to prosecute charges against Trump or anyone else in the investigation belongs to Smith and his team. Garland took no steps to retract the actions taken in the recently concluded investigation by another special counsel, John Durham, into the origins of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation.
Trump’s lawyers and a Trump spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
In addition to the document review, Smith is separately investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
