Obstruction of justice, anybody? The Washington Post is breaking a story indicating that new evidence has come to light that Donald Trump kept tampering with the classified files in his Mar-a-Lago long after the subpoena to produce same was served in May. Legally, Trump was required at the time of service to immediately comply with the terms of the subpoena. Evidently, he did not, which is hardly surprising.
In the classified documents case, federal investigators have gathered new and significant evidence that after the subpoena was delivered, Trump looked through the contents of some of the boxes of documents in his home, apparently out of a desire to keep certain things in his possession, the people familiar with the investigation said.
Investigators now suspect, based on witness statements, security camera footage, and other documentary evidence, that boxes including classified material were moved from a Mar-a-Lago storage area after the subpoena was served, and that Trump personally examined at least some of those boxes, these people said. While Trump’s team returned some documents with classified markings in response to the subpoena, a later FBI search found more than 100 additional classified items that had not been turned over.
Court papers filed seeking judicial authorization for the FBI to conduct the search of Trump’s home show agents believed that “evidence of obstruction will be found at the premises.”
The Washington Post reported in October that Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, had told investigators that he moved boxes at Mar-a-Lago at the former president’s instruction after the subpoena was issued. Smith’s team has video surveillance footage corroborating that account, The Post reported, and considers the evidence significant.
In addition, the people familiar with the investigation said, authorities have another category of evidence that they consider particularly helpful as they reconstruct events from last spring: emails and texts of Molly Michael, an assistant to the former president who followed him from the White House to Florida before she eventually left that job last year. Michael’s written communications have provided investigators with a detailed understanding of the day-to-day activity at Mar-a-Lago at critical moments, these people said.
Donald is so screwed. And of course it gets worse. It always does.
Investigators have also amassed evidence indicating that Trump told others to mislead government officials in early 2022, before the subpoena, when the National Archives and Records Administration was working with the Justice Department to try to recover a wide range of papers, many of them not classified, from Trump’s time as president, the people familiar with the investigation said. While such alleged conduct may not constitute a crime, it could serve as evidence of the former president’s intent.
These people said prosecutors have collected evidence that Trump ignored requests from multiple advisers to return the documents to the archives over a period of a year, that he asked advisers and lawyers to release false statements claiming he had returned all documents, and that he grew angry after being subpoenaed for the documents.
Trump was living in some dream land that he could keep whatever he wanted, apparently. The article goes on to say that investigators “have evidence” that Trump “sought advice from other lawyers” on how he could keep the documents he wanted, even after the situation was explained to him that in no way could he do so. His advisers also warned him that he was potentially breaking the law by stonewalling NARA on their request.
Trump was virtually begging the FBI to raid Mar-a-Lago on August 8 and they complied. It did not have to go down that way, but Trump would not cooperate because he was under some delusion that he owned government records.
Meanwhile, Jack Smith has been a very busy man.
Smith’s team has been presenting witnesses and evidence for months to a grand jury in Washington focused on the Mar-a-Lago probe, even as a separate grand jury at the same federal courthouse hears evidence related to efforts to block the results of the 2020 election, and the state-level prosecutors in New York and Georgia press forward with their cases.
And of course we have Tuesday’s festivities in Lower Manhattan. But this clown honestly believes that he’s going to get elected again to be president of the United States. God help us if we let that happen on these facts.
Is there any indication that he sold or traded away copies of the classified documents?
That I have not seen. And THAT would be explosive. And also put this investigation on another footing, entirely. So far we have dumb ass Trump, bumbling and believing things belong to him. To find out he copied/sold anything is a horse of a different color.
Don’t we know he copied? There was the laptop full of scanned documents, or am I mistaken?
Not yet, AFAIK. That would be grounds for some very serious charges, like Espionage Act stuff.
And the hits just keep on coming!! Go get him, Jack Smith…Make us proud!!
I think when all is said and done, two unlikely heroes will arise: Jack Smith, a justice of the World Court at the Haig and Stormy Daniels, a porn star.
History makes strange bedfellows.
Not merely an inept TV show host, an inept politician but now, also, an inept criminal.
It took more time than the “cabal of geniuses ” to send those documents to putin by carrier pigeon than they anticipated.
Afterall, they are CLOWNS….
He decided to keep the documents.
Let’s do it Jack. Indict the traitor. If you do it this month it will seal TFG’s future.
He obstructed justice before and walked. He clearly told all of us he was floating pardons for Flynn and stone. He then pardoned them to keep them from flipping. The law has allowed him to walk on so many crimes, no wonder he does what he does. I’ll believe the hypocrisy ends when it actually does.
What do you expect from a self absorbed, grifter, conman !!! He’s been a criminal
a long time. It’s sad that his followers are ok with his behavior and justify all of his moral/legal issues with endless excuses. When will his followers wake up!!!!!!
Congress (GOP) is useless and without a backbone too standup to him and
purge him to oblivion.
How is Trump.telling people to.mislead investigators about the papers not criminal? He was demanding they lie in an official investigation. Isn’t that the definition of obstruction?
Walt Nauta’s testimony and the security camera footage may bring him to the brink. Nauta was loyal, even followed him to FL. Flipping *him* will.help, as will.the lawyers he tried to convince to lie under oath (the exception to lawyers client privilege is an attempt to.commit A crime,in this case demanding they say he had returned everything).
So.many potential.cjatges,and trials. I.am 73. I would like to.see and end to.this in my lifetime.
Add in the pending grand jury testimony of the Mar-a-Lago Secret Service agents who we hope will testify truthfully. It’s their job to be around the FPOTUS and observe what’s going on.