The U.S. Dept. of Justice has obtained more evidence of possible obstruction of justice by Donald Trump through Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of the ex-president’s likely unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return thousands of White House items including hundreds of documents with classified and top secret markings, according to a Sunday afternoon report by The Washington Post.
Focusing on two aspects of Trump’s alleged actions related to the government property kept at his Mar-a-Lago residence and resort, The Post’s report reveals new evidence of Trump’s possible attempts to mislead investigators, and his possible attempts to hide documents.
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigators have “amassed evidence indicating that Trump told others to mislead government officials in early 2022, before the subpoena,” The Post reports. “While such alleged conduct may not constitute a crime, it could serve as evidence of the former president’s intent.”
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The Post’s sources “said prosecutors have collected evidence that Trump … asked advisers and lawyers to release false statements claiming he had returned all documents, and that he grew angry after being subpoenaed for the documents.”
Smith’s investigators reportedly also have evidence “that Trump sought advice from other lawyers and advisers on how he could keep documents after being told by some on his team that he could not, people familiar with the investigation said. They have collected evidence that multiple advisers warned Trump that trying to keep the documents could be legally perilous.”
DOJ also reportedly has evidence that after Trump was sent the subpoenae in early 2022, the ex-president looked through the boxes, “apparently out of a desire to keep certain things in his possession, the people familiar with the investigation said.”
Read the full report here.