Trump lawyers meet with DOJ over classified documents probe

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s lawyers met with Justice Department attorneys on Monday as an investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents appears to be nearing an end, US media reported. John Rowley, James Trusty and Lindsey Halligan were seen by reporters arriving at the Justice Department building in Washington but did not make any comment. The Washington Post, citing an unidentified “person familiar with the situation,” said Trump’s lawyers had come to make their case that the former president should not face any charges. A special counsel named by Attorney General Merrick Garland has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House.

The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and Trump could face obstruction of justice charges after spending months resisting efforts to recover the trove. Several sources with knowledge of the investigation told the CBS news network that they believe that a charging decision in the documents case is imminent.

Trump, meanwhile, posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday that he was the victim of the “greatest witch hunt of all time!” “How can DoJ possibly charge me, who did nothing wrong, when no other presidents were charged, when Joe Biden won´t be charged for anything,” Trump wrote. Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was apparently referring to the discovery of some classified documents at Biden´s former office and in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Garland, the attorney general, named a special counsel in January to examine whether the Biden cache violated any law. The Justice Department and Trump´s attorneys did not immediately respond to inquiries from AFP about the meeting. The classified documents case is one of several legal challenges that threaten to derail Trump´s 2024 election bid.