Donald Trump’s attorneys were seen outside the Department of Justice on Monday, begging prosecutors probing the former president’s hoarding of secret materials not to charge him. Later in the day, the New York Times claimed that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the inquiry, was present.
The last-minute rush to appease investigators is unsurprising. Trump is expected to be charged in the investigation, according to Rolling Stone, which reported in May that his attorneys have been preparing him for yet another criminal prosecution.
Trump fueled the speculation with an angry, all-caps rant on Truth Social hours after the meeting ended.
“HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT WERE CHARGED WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING,” Trump railed. “ONLY TRUMP – THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
Trump also incorrectly claimed that President Biden had kept “1850 BOXES [of documents]. MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED.” While only a small number of documents were found at many of Biden’s homes and offices, the current president has not escaped scot-free. In January, Attorney General Merrick Garland hired Robert Hur, a former federal prosecutor chosen by Trump, as special counsel to investigate Biden’s handling of documents.
The current president moved quickly to turn over any records in his possession, but Trump’s dealing with officials have been far more adversarial. Federal authorities collected more than 300 secret documents from Mar-a-Lago following months of pleading from the National Archives, a subpoena, and an FBI raid since Trump’s departure. Trump claimed he had the unilateral ability to telepathically declassify documents at will, and his legal team even petitioned the Supreme Court to prevent investigators from reviewing the material.
Trump claimed that he declassified everything he took from the White House, but the DOJ recently recovered a 2021 recording of Trump admitting to keeping a “SECRET” level classified document allegedly containing a proposed attack plan against Iran, which he knew he could not simply declassify. Trump’s attorneys have now stated that Trump does not have such a document.
Last Thursday, during a Fox News town hall, Trump reacted to a question about the recording by claiming he did not know anything about it. “All I know is this: everything I did was right,” he said.