Prosecutors, Trump Lawyers in Hearing on Documents
BY SADIE GURMAN AND ARUNA VISWANATHA -- WSJ
WASHINGTON— Donald Trump’s lawyers appeared in federal court for a closed-door proceeding Thursday, as prosecutors press for the return of what they believe to be more government documents in the former president’s possession and step up efforts to interview people close to him, according to people familiar with the matter. The lawyers, Jim Trusty, Evan Corcoran and Lindsey Halligan, declined to comment as they left the courthouse in Washington. The Justice Department’s investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort has launched a number of legal disputes since Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in August removed more than 11,000 documents, including roughly 100 marked as classified, from the Florida resort.
Prosecutors have been seeking to compel Mr. Trump to provide any remaining documents, prompting his legal team to discuss a range of options, people familiar with the matter have said. Those include hiring an outside firm to conduct a search and certify that no additional documents remain, and launching a legal challenge to the Justice Department’s demand. Thursday’s hearing in Washington was likely related to that ongoing dispute, observers said. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for the former president didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump and his aides have previously criticized the government’s investigative tactics as overly aggressive, including those taken in recent weeks outside the public eye.
In addition to investigating whether anyone misused classified documents, prosecutors have said they are examining whether anyone tried to obstruct the investigation and the government’s efforts to retrieve the material. In recent weeks, a senior Justice Department official told Mr. Trump’s lawyers that law-enforcement officials don’t believe they captured all the government documents the former president took with him as he left office, The Wall Street Journal reported. Investigators have expressed concern that Mr. Trump took documents on flights as he traveled from Mara- Lago to his other properties in New York and New Jersey.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, have hit some roadblocks in their inquiry, as people close to Mr. Trump and some who worked for him have refused to answer investigators’ questions. Prosecutors are seeking to compel one close associate, Kash Patel, to answer a range of questions including about Mr. Trump’s claim that he declassified the documents before he left the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter.
BY SADIE GURMAN AND ARUNA VISWANATHA -- WSJ
WASHINGTON— Donald Trump’s lawyers appeared in federal court for a closed-door proceeding Thursday, as prosecutors press for the return of what they believe to be more government documents in the former president’s possession and step up efforts to interview people close to him, according to people familiar with the matter. The lawyers, Jim Trusty, Evan Corcoran and Lindsey Halligan, declined to comment as they left the courthouse in Washington. The Justice Department’s investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort has launched a number of legal disputes since Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in August removed more than 11,000 documents, including roughly 100 marked as classified, from the Florida resort.
Prosecutors have been seeking to compel Mr. Trump to provide any remaining documents, prompting his legal team to discuss a range of options, people familiar with the matter have said. Those include hiring an outside firm to conduct a search and certify that no additional documents remain, and launching a legal challenge to the Justice Department’s demand. Thursday’s hearing in Washington was likely related to that ongoing dispute, observers said. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for the former president didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump and his aides have previously criticized the government’s investigative tactics as overly aggressive, including those taken in recent weeks outside the public eye.
In addition to investigating whether anyone misused classified documents, prosecutors have said they are examining whether anyone tried to obstruct the investigation and the government’s efforts to retrieve the material. In recent weeks, a senior Justice Department official told Mr. Trump’s lawyers that law-enforcement officials don’t believe they captured all the government documents the former president took with him as he left office, The Wall Street Journal reported. Investigators have expressed concern that Mr. Trump took documents on flights as he traveled from Mara- Lago to his other properties in New York and New Jersey.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, have hit some roadblocks in their inquiry, as people close to Mr. Trump and some who worked for him have refused to answer investigators’ questions. Prosecutors are seeking to compel one close associate, Kash Patel, to answer a range of questions including about Mr. Trump’s claim that he declassified the documents before he left the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter.
