https://sputnikglobe.com/20230616/report-lawyers-urged-trump-to-seek-deal-in-classified-docs-case-but-he-refused-1111199381.html
Report: Lawyers Urged Trump to Seek Deal in Classified Docs Case But He Refused
Report: Lawyers Urged Trump to Seek Deal in Classified Docs Case But He Refused
Sputnik International
Former President Donald Trump reportedly declined to listen to his lawyers' advice and seek a deal with the Department of Justice to avoid an indictment.
2023-06-16T00:33+0000
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Lawyers working for Donald Trump reportedly urged the former president to cooperate with the Justice Department and negotiate a settlement that would have enabled him to avoid the federal indictment that came late last week.Attorney Christopher Kise, according to reports in US media, wanted to approach the Justice Department in 2022 to see if US Attorney General Merrick Garland would be open to negotiating a settlement, believing at the time that he might be looking for an exit ramp that would allow him to avoid prosecuting a former president.However, Trump wasn’t interested in reaching a deal and Kise never approached the Justice Department.Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung denied that the 2024 Republican frontrunner and former commander-in-chief mishandled documents, or that he refused to cooperate with the Justice Department.“President Trump has consistently been in full compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which is the only law that applies to presidents and their records,” Cheung said in a statement. Trump was not charged for the boxes that he returned to the DOJ but was instead charged for the documents that he did not return. Early last year, Trump returned 15 boxes containing documents to the National Archives, but the Archives complained some documents were still missing.Trump instructed his aides to release a statement that all documents had been released, even though, according to witness testimony, he was aware there were more documents in the 64 boxes that remained at his Mar-a-Lago residence.The FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last summer, finding thousands of more documents, including over 100 documents marked as classified.Kise is not the only Trump lawyer who apparently urged him to comply with the Department of Justice demands that he return all classified documents. According to testimony by Evan Corcoran, who Trump hired after the DOJ subpoena was issued, Corcoran and another lawyer told Trump that he should comply with the order but that Trump instead told him to stonewall the subpoena.Corcoran also said during his testimony that Trump asked him: “Well, what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” and “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything there?”The indictment alleges Trump hid more documents from Corcoran by having his personal aide, Walt Nauta, fly some boxes out of his Mar-a-Lago estate to Bedminster, New Jersey. Nauta, who Trump is still permitted to engage with ahead of proceedings, has also been charged in the case.
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indictment of donald trump, classified documents case, fbi, doj, mar-a-lago
indictment of donald trump, classified documents case, fbi, doj, mar-a-lago
Report: Lawyers Urged Trump to Seek Deal in Classified Docs Case But He Refused
Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 37 charges outlined in q 49-page indictment that details how the one-time US leader mishandled a trove of classified records after leaving office in 2021. He has condemned the latest actions as a "political witch hunt."
Lawyers working for Donald Trump reportedly urged the former president to cooperate with the Justice Department and negotiate a settlement that would have enabled him to avoid the federal indictment that came late last week.
Attorney Christopher Kise, according to reports in US media, wanted to approach the Justice Department in 2022 to see if US Attorney General Merrick Garland would be open to negotiating a settlement, believing at the time that he might be looking for an exit ramp that would allow him to avoid prosecuting a former president.
However, Trump wasn’t interested in reaching a deal and Kise never approached the Justice Department.
The Justice Department unsealed Trump’s indictment on Friday, accusing him of 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified documents and alleged attempts to conceal them.
He pleaded not guilty in a Miami, Florida, court on Tuesday. The charges filed against the former president could result in decades in prison.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung denied that the 2024 Republican frontrunner and former commander-in-chief mishandled documents, or that he refused to cooperate with the Justice Department.
“President Trump has consistently been in full compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which is the only law that applies to presidents and their records,” Cheung said in a statement.
“In the course of negotiations over the return of the documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, ‘anything you need from us, just let us know.’ Sadly, the weaponized DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted an unnecessary and unconstitutional raid on the president’s home in order to inflict maximum political damage on the leading presidential candidate.”
Trump was not charged for the boxes that he returned to the DOJ but was instead charged for the documents that he did not return. Early last year, Trump returned 15 boxes containing documents to the National Archives, but the Archives complained some documents were still missing.
Trump instructed his aides to release a statement that all documents had been released, even though, according to witness testimony, he was aware there were more documents in the 64 boxes that remained at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
The FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last summer, finding thousands of more documents, including over 100 documents marked as classified.
Kise is not the only Trump lawyer who apparently urged him to comply with the Department of Justice demands that he return all classified documents. According to testimony by Evan Corcoran, who Trump hired after the DOJ subpoena was issued, Corcoran and another lawyer told Trump that he should comply with the order but that Trump instead told him to stonewall the subpoena.
Corcoran also said during his testimony that Trump asked him: “Well, what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” and “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything there?”
The indictment alleges Trump hid more documents from Corcoran by having his personal aide, Walt Nauta, fly some boxes out of his Mar-a-Lago estate to Bedminster, New Jersey. Nauta, who Trump is still permitted to engage with ahead of proceedings, has also been charged in the case.
