For the first time since the FBI raid into Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate his legal team has acknowledged that there is a chance that the former President might face criminal charges regarding this case.
In a filing made on late Monday evening, Trump’s team told the special master that they are not certain about providing information regarding the declassification of these documents as it could cause further issues in their defense if further criminal charges are brought on.
They also added that if they were made to provide this evidence, “the Special Master process will have forced the Plaintiff to fully and specifically disclose a defense to the merits of any subsequent indictment without such a requirement being evident in the District Court’s order.”
The Justice Department has been very clear about the fact that the Mar-a-Lago incident is going to be a very serious criminal investigation, which is possibly why Trump’s team is being cautious as the possibility of indictment for Trump exists. The Justice Department has not yet disclosed whether they would pursue criminal charges, but former Attorney General William Barr has said that he believed the Justice Department probably has good evidence to pursue charges.
According to the unsealed court filings, Trump is being investigated under the Espionage Act and other laws which have to do with whether he used his position to obstruct justice. Currently, the Justice Department’s investigation is temporarily halted as a federal judge has appointed a special master to go through all of the documents after Trump’s request.
So far in the filings the Justice Department has also shown that Trump’s lawyers have failed to offer specifics about declassification even though Trump has publicly claimed that all of the recovered documents were declassified.
