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Trump Indictment Risks Appearance of ‘Miscarriage of Justice’ - US House Judiciary Chair

© AP Photo / Jon ElswickPages from the affidavit by the FBI in support of obtaining a search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate are photographed Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the Justice Department to make public a redacted version of the affidavit it relied on when federal agents searched Trump's estate to look for classified documents.
Pages from the affidavit by the FBI in support of obtaining a search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate are photographed Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the Justice Department to make public a redacted version of the affidavit it relied on when federal agents searched Trump's estate to look for classified documents.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.06.2023
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Justice Department’s indictment of former US President Donald Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents risks appearing as a miscarriage of justice amid concerns about the motivations behind the probe, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said on Friday.
"The indictment creates, at the minimum, a serious appearance of a double standard and a miscarriage of justice – an impression that is only strengthened by allegations that a Biden Justice Department lawyer ‘inappropriately sought to pressure’ a Trump-affiliated lawyer with the prospect of a judgeship," Jordan said in a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland.

On Friday, a 38-count indictment against Trump and an aide, Walt Nauta, was unsealed. The indictment charges the two with crimes including willful retention of national defense information and making false statements.

Earlier this week, Stanley Woodword, a lawyer representing Nauta, alleged that Justice Department counterintelligence chief Jay Bratt sought to inappropriately pressure him to convince Nauta to cooperate with prosecutors by bringing up his application for a judgeship.
Moreover, the Judiciary Committee conducted an interview on Wednesday with former Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Steven D’Antuono, the letter said. D’Antuono expressed concerns about the Justice Department’s pursuit of a raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, during which sensitive materials were purportedly recovered.
In particular, D’Antuono raised concerns about the FBI assigning the Mar-a-Lago raid to the Washington Field Office instead of the Miami Field Office, which is closer to the residence, the letter said.
D’Antuono also testified that it was "unusual" for the FBI not to have assigned a US Attorney to investigate the matter, given the significance of the case. The FBI also sought to exclude Trump’s attorneys from the raid by refusing to wait for their presence prior to execution of the search, D’Antuono said.
Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to reporters Friday, June 9, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.06.2023
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The letter requests Garland provide all documents and communications related to meetings between the FBI and Justice Department prior to execution of the Mar-a-Lago raid, as well as materials related to collaboration between the Washington Field Office and the US Secret Service about the raid.
The letter requests the information no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on June 16.
The case against Trump has received criticism from both the former president and Republican officials, who have characterized it as a weaponization of the US justice system. Trump currently leads the pack of Republican presidential candidates running in the 2024 race.
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