WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers requested a meeting Tuesday with Attorney General Merrick Garland as a Justice Department investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents shows signs of completion.
In the letter, which Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, attorneys John Rowley and James Trusty claimed that Trump is «being treated unfairly» and called for a meeting to discuss «the ongoing injustice being perpetrated by his special counsel and his prosecutors”. .” The language echoed some of Trump’s own complaints in recent months about investigations led by special counsel Jack Smith.
It was not immediately clear what specifically prompted the letter, but the year-long investigation of documents appears to be drawing to a close. Agents and prosecutors have interviewed a broad cross-section of witnesses, including trump lawyersformer White House officials and other close associates.
The investigation seeks to determine whether Trump illegally withheld hundreds of classified documents that were taken from the White House to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, after the end of his term and whether he tried to obstruct government efforts to obtain the records. . back.
It’s not uncommon for defense attorneys to seek meetings with senior Justice Department officials to argue against potential allegations by their clients, although it’s unusual for such meetings to include the attorney general.
Special counsel enjoy broad autonomy within the Justice Department, and officials have repeatedly pointed out that the recommendation to bring charges against Trump or anyone else in the investigation belongs to Smith and his team. Garland has not once moved to quash any of the actions taken in the recently concluded investigation by another special counsel, John Durham, into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation in 2016.
Trump’s lawyers and a Trump spokesman did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
In addition to the document investigation, Smith is separately investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election.