As Donald Trump’s legal problems continue to multiply, this week’s search warrant served by FBI agents at Mar-a-Lago could also wind up ensnaring his attorneys as co-conspirators.
A report from the New York Times notes that an attorney for Trump assured the Justice Department in June that all classified materials located at the ex-president’s Palm Beach golf resort had been returned, which the FBI has now proven was a blatant lie.
At least one lawyer for former President Donald Trump signed a written statement in June asserting that all material marked as classified and held in boxes in a storage area at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and club had been returned to the government, four people with knowledge of the document said.
The written declaration was made after a visit on June 3 by Jay I. Bratt, the top counterintelligence official in the Justice Department’s national security division.
That report was later confirmed by a second outlet, Mediaite notes:
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz confirmed the NYT reporting on Saturday, that a lawyer for the former president signed a letter in June attesting that all classified records and information had been returned. The existence of this signed statement that was uncovered on Saturday, potentially demonstrates that the Trump team was not completely honest or forthcoming with the Department of Justice about the storage of government material.
This occurred around the time that “Justice Department officials came down to Mar-a-Lago,” in an attempt to recover government documents being held at the estate. From the June visit, officials returned with additional documents marked classified, which was shortly followed by the written declaration from the lawyer claiming that all sensitive material had been returned.
That means that Trump’s legal team is also facing charges of obstructing justice and even espionage, which could send them to prison for decades.
Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal wrote on Twitter that Trump’s attorneys may now have no choice but to flip on their client and testify against him if they want to avoid significant time in jail.
And former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti noted that the attorney who vouched for Trump can no longer represent him:
As several of Trump’s former attorneys (i.e. Rudy Giuliani, Michael Cohen) can attest, when you agree to represent the Donald, you’re basically throwing your life away.
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