In the ongoing classified document obstruction case against Donald Trump, his legal team has made a sweeping request for prosecutors to gather and submit all potentially relevant documents from across the United States’ intelligence agencies.
Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor, spoke to MSNBC’s Alex Wagner about this development. She anticipates that Special Counsel Jack Smith will strongly counter this request in his response.
According to Vance, while some aspects of Trump’s latest legal filing might be considered within reason, the demand for Smith to compel every intelligence agency to surrender their documents is seen as excessive and unrealistic, told The Messenger.
Trump’s attorneys have accused federal prosecutors of not sharing essential records with the defense in the Florida case, claiming a breach of “basic discovery obligations.”
They allege that Smith’s team is deliberately ignoring exculpatory evidence held by senior officials at the White House, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and other components of the Intelligence Community.
Vance labeled these claims as “just completely out of bounds.” Vance elaborated that the defense wants Smith to collaborate with the entire intelligence community to release all information related to the case. She suggests waiting for Smith’s response, which she expects to be quite firm given the nature of the defense’s demands, according to a report by Raw Story on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
However, Vance does acknowledge that part of Trump’s team’s request might be justified. She considers it reasonable to ask Smith’s team to revisit the Justice Department and the FBI for any potentially relevant materials. This portion of the request, she believes, could be “warranted.”