Trump’s Team Seeks High-Stakes Showdown with AG Garland in Explosive Docs Probe
Credit: Alex Brandon/AP, FILE
As fears of indictment loom large in another probe pertaining to the classified documents after leaving the Oval Office in 2021, lawyers of former President Donald Trump have formally asked for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to the letter posted on social media Tuesday.
In a letter dispatched to Garland, by John Rowley and James Trusty, it read: “Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly.”
“No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion. We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors,” read the letter.
Earlier this month, Trump was ordered by a federal jury in New York to pay $5 million for sexually abusing and forcibly touching writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s, as well as defaming her last year by accusing her of fabricating the incident.
The writer is now seeking additional financial compensation following Trump’s derogatory remarks on a CNN programme just a day after the verdict.
In March, the 2024 presidential candidate was indicted with 34 charges by the Manhattan grand jury including his involvement in paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, making him the first ex-president to face criminal charges.
The 76-year-old former president posted the letter on his social media platform Truth Social.
Early reports suggested that Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith is in the final stretch of investigations into Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents and efforts to obstruct the 2020 election.
Recent activity Tuesday by the special counsel’s team included a number of appearances before the jury and on Wednesday, he is to receive a batch of documents from the National Archives showing former president Trump and his top advisers being aware of the correct declassification process while he was in the office.
The letter came after the breakdown of negotiations between Trump and the government. It also led to the May 2022 subpoena for documents and then the search of Mar-a-Lago August.
During the search in August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found more than 100 documents with classified markings during the search. From the former president’s office alone, there were 43 empty folders seized.
