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The Justice Department is preparing to ask a grand jury in Washington DC to indict former President Donald Trump for violating the Espionage Act and for obstruction of justice as soon as Thursday, adding more weight to his legal case Trump as he campaigns for his party’s nomination in next year’s presidential election.
The Independent has learned that prosecutors are prepared to ask grand juries to approve an indictment against Trump for violating a part of the US criminal code known as Section 793, which prohibits the “collection, transmission or loss” of “any” information regarding national defense”. .
The use of Section 793, which does not refer to classified information, is understood to be a strategic decision by prosecutors to short-circuit Mr. Trump for claiming he used his authority as president to declassify documents he deleted. the White House and remained at his Palm Beach, Florida estate long after his term expired on January 20, 2021.
That section of US criminal law is written in a way that could encompass Mr Trump’s conduct, even if he were authorized to possess the information as president, as it states that anyone who “has possession, access , control or legally entrusted to him”. any document … relating to national defense,” and “willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivers or transmits or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or causes to be communicated, delivers or transmits the same to Any Person who is not entitled to receive it, or who willfully withholds it and fails to deliver it upon demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it” is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors are understood to intend to ask grand jurors to vote on the indictment on Thursday, but that vote could be delayed for up to a week until the next grand jury meeting to allow for a full presentation of evidence or to allow the researchers to gather more evidence to present if necessary.
A separate grand jury meeting in Florida has also been hearing evidence in the investigation into the documents. That grand jury was formed in part to overcome legal problems raised by the fact that some of the crimes allegedly committed by Mr. Trump took place in that jurisdiction, not in Washington. Under federal law, prosecutors must file charges against federal defendants in the jurisdiction where the crimes occurred.
Even if grand juries vote to return an indictment against the former president this week, those charges are likely to remain sealed until grand juries in both Washington and Florida finish their work.
Another source familiar with the matter said Trump’s team was recently informed that he is a “target” of the Justice Department investigation, which began in early 2022 after administration officials National Archives and Records discovered more than 100 documents with classification marks in one set. of 15 boxes of Trump administration records recovered from Mar-a-Lago, the century-old mansion-turned-private-beach-club where Trump maintains his primary residence and post-presidential office.
Over the past year, grand juries have heard testimony from numerous associates of the former president, including nearly all Mar-a-Lago employees, former administration officials who worked in the post-presidential office of Trump and for his political operation. , and former senior administration officials such as his last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Mark Meadows is said to be cooperating with investigations into his former boss
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Meadows has already testified before a grand jury and is said to be cooperating with investigations into his former boss. The former North Carolina congressman is understood to have testified as part of a deal in which he has already received limited immunity in exchange for his testimony.
A source who was briefed on the deal said the alleged deal will involve the former chief of staff pleading guilty to unspecified federal crimes, but a lawyer for Meadows, George Terwilliger, denied that to The Independent. Terwilliger said the idea that his client would plead guilty was “complete bulls***,” but did not address the issue of immunity in a brief telephone conversation with this reporter.
It is not yet known whether the testimony or the charges in question are related to the documents investigation, or a separate investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Both investigations are being overseen by a Justice Department special prosecutor, Jack Smith. According to ABC News, Mr Meadows has given evidence in both the documentary matter and the January 6 inquiry.
As for the documents, prosecutors are also poised to ask grand juries to indict Mr. Trump on charges of obstruction of justice during the year-long investigation and making false statements to investigators by people who worked for to him.
The charges may have stemmed from a statement given to federal investigators about a year ago, when FBI agents and prosecutors visited his home to retrieve a sealed folder filled with 38 classified documents that Trump’s lawyers they delivered in response to a grand jury. citation If so, those charges could end up in federal courts in Florida, rather than Washington.
According to court documents, the government later developed evidence that the documents had been removed from a warehouse where its lawyers had claimed all of those documents were stored in the days after receiving the grand jury subpoena.
Using that evidence, which reportedly includes surveillance footage taken by cameras placed inside Mar-a-Lago, prosecutors obtained a search warrant for the property that FBI agents they took place on August 8 of last year.
During this search, special agents discovered 103 documents bearing classification marks, including 18 marked “top secret,” 54 marked “secret,” and 31 marked “confidential,” including a number of documents stored in Trump’s personal office.
This article has been updated to include comments from Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger.
