Dept. of Justice investigators for Special Counsel Jack Smith have been asking witnesses if Donald Trump showed off a map that contains sensitive national security information. One noted legal expert says it could mean DOJ might be considering charges against the ex-president under the Espionage Act.
“The nature of the map and the information it contained is not clear,” The New York Times reports. “One person briefed on the matter said investigators have asked about Mr. Trump showing the map while aboard a plane. Another said that, based on the questions they were asking, investigators appeared to believe that Mr. Trump showed the map to at least one adviser after leaving office.”
“A third person with knowledge of the investigation said the map might also have been shown to a journalist writing a book. The Washington Post has previously reported that investigators have asked about Mr. Trump showing classified material, including maps, to political donors.”
Ryan Goodman, the former Special Counsel to the Dept. of Defense, a professor at NYU Law, the co-editor-in-chief at Just Security, among a long list of other accomplishments on his resume, weighed in Wednesday.
‘Special Counsel apparently looking at evidence of Trump _disseminating_ national defense info,” Goodman tweeted in response to The Times article. “That could put this case into echelon of more serious charges under Espionage Act.”
“Sounds like the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation is near complete,” Goodman also noted, pointing to this passage from The Times: “Prosecutors have now interviewed nearly everyone who could offer insight in connection with the documents, according to one person briefed on the range of witnesses.”