Special counsel Jack Smith appears to be nearing a charge decision in the case, and on Monday, attorneys defending Donald Trump in the probe into his handling of highly sensitive national security materials were seen entering the Justice Department.
Late on Monday, CBS spotted attorneys like James Trusty and Lindsey Halligan arriving at the Department of Justice. Neither the purpose of their trip nor the officials they were scheduled to meet with were made plain at first glance. Smith’s spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment after the Justice Department sent any inquiries about the situation to him.
Two of Trump’s lawyers in the documents case requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland last month. It’s also not clear if Monday’s meeting followed from this exchange of letters on May 23.
Smith is looking into Trump’s alleged storage of sensitive national security documents at his resort properties after he left office. Soon after Trump’s departure, the National Archives began its efforts to recover hundreds of records that had been removed from its archives. After months of talks, the Archives finally succeeded in reclaiming 15 boxes of material in early 2022. At the time, some sensitive records were discovered by Archives staff and were reported to the Justice Department.
FBI agents raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last August and seized additional boxes from Trump’s storage room and personal office, where they found additional classified records that had not been returned despite a subpoena from the Department of Justice. Smith is looking into both Trump’s retention of the material and his possible obstruction of Justice Department efforts to locate and recover all classified documents from Trump Tower.