Donald Trump could be facing “multiple counts of obstruction” in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe, according to one former prosecutor.
As he attempts to mount another bid for the White House in 2024, Trump is facing numerous legal battles at various levels, including probes from the Department of Justice (DOJ). Among the federal investigations being handled by special counsel Jack Smith is a case pertaining to Trump’s alleged mishandling of sensitive documents after leaving the White House in 2021, which notably led to an FBI search of his Florida resort and residence, Mar-a-Lago, last summer.
On Friday, a new report from The Washington Post revealed allegations that two Trump employees moved boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago a day before the FBI search. This detail has reportedly come under scrutiny from investigators, raising the possibility of obstruction charges for the former president and his associates.
Trump has consistently maintained his innocence in the document case in the face of mounting evidence against him, as he has in all of his legal battles. He has also previously claimed that he declassified the documents in his possession before office and claimed that he had a broad ability to do so, even just by thinking about it, which numerous experts have disputed.
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On Saturday, MSNBC host Katie Phang spoke to Charles F. Coleman Jr., a civil rights attorney and former Brooklyn prosecutor, about the new developments in the document case and what they mean for Trump.
“The more that we find out about this timeline, the less it matters what is in those documents,” Coleman said. “We know that Donald Trump had been given notice from the National Archives as well as from other federal agencies, law enforcement specifically, about the need to turn the documents over.”
He continued: “And so, the actual contents of the documents becomes increasingly irrelevant when…there’s more and more evidence that Donald Trump chose to move those documents even in light of the fact that he knew that people would be coming to get those documents and recover them from Mar-a-Lago. And so, the timeline itself is something people need to understand is the most important thing that Jack Smith, the special counsel, and his office are going to be looking at.”
Coleman added that, while the potential obstruction is taking precedence in determining Trump’s criminal liability, the contents of the documents could still heighten the severity of the case against him.
“This is nothing more than a targeted, politically motivated witch hunt against President Trump that is concocted to meddle in an election and prevent the American people from returning him to the White House,” a spokesman for Trump wrote in a statement provided to Newsweek on Saturday. “Just like all the other fake hoaxes thrown at President Trump, this corrupt effort will also fail. The weaponized Department of Justice and the Special Counsel have shown no regard for common decency or key rules that govern the legal system. They have harassed anyone and everyone who works, has worked, or supports President Trump.”
The spokesman continued: “In the course of negotiations over the return of documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, ‘anything you need from us, just let us know.’ That DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted a raid on Mar-a-Lago proves that the Biden regime has weaponized the DOJ and FBI.”