A number of secret service agents are set to testify in the federal investigation into the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to reports.
There have been other indications that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the classified documents is ramping up, as the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
Much of Smith’s investigation focuses on whether there is enough evidence to ask a grand jury to charge Trump with obstructing the investigation.
Citing unnamed sources, the report showed that investigators have new and significant evidence that Trump looked through some of the boxes of government documents in an apparent attempt to hold onto certain materials after receiving a federal subpoena to have them all returned in May 2022.
- Among previous reports, a valet driver said he was told to move boxes of documents into a storage room following the subpoena to return the government’s documents.
- Another category of evidence comes from emails and texts of Molly Michael, an assistant to the former president, who provided knowledge of significant day-to-day activities at Mar-a-Lago in critical moments.
- In late March, one of Trump’s lawyers, Evan Corcoran, was also ordered to testify and hand over documents including transcripts of personal audio recordings after a judge said Corcoran’s evidence may prove a crime was committed.
A key element in most obstruction cases is intent, because to bring such a charge, prosecutors have to be able to show that whatever actions were taken were performed to try to hinder or block an investigation.
One of the more interesting points of the Washington Post report was regarding the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Investigators have been asking if Trump showed any particular interest in materials relating to General Milley.
The Post sources did not say whether investigators specified what material related to Milley they were focused on. The Post could not determine what has led prosecutors to press some witnesses on those specific points or how relevant they may be to the overall picture of the investigation.