Former President Donald J. A federal grand jury in Miami continued to question witnesses Wednesday in the probe into Trump’s possession of hundreds of classified documents, raising tensions among his aides and advisers that indictments could soon be filed against him.
Among those appearing for questioning before the grand jury were Taylor Pudovich, Mr. Trump’s former spokesman, who now serves as Mr. He is a senior adviser to a super PAC supporting Trump’s presidential bid.
From the grand jury sitting in Federal District Court in Miami, Mr. A few hours after Pudovich left, Mr. John Solomon, a conservative writer who serves as one of Trump’s surrogates, published an article claiming that federal prosecutors said. He announced that the former president was the target of an investigation and was likely to be indicted “immediately” in the documents case.
When The New York Times approached Mr Trump directly to ask if he had been told he would be impeached, he said it was “not true”. But when asked if he had been told he was the target of a federal investigation, Mr. Trump did not respond directly, saying that “you have to understand” that he was not in direct contact with the lawyers and that “that’s not true.” He was told he would be indicted.
Sometime later, Mr. At his club in Bedminster, NJ Trump, on his social media site Truth Social, said Mr. He issued a message denying Solomon’s claim.
“Nobody ever told me I was being accused and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done nothing wrong, but I’ve assumed for years that I was a target of the armed DOJ & FBI. .”
Special counsel Jack Smith has been rocked back and forth amid real signs that he is nearing the conclusion of his investigation into the documents case and a decision on whether to bring an indictment.
On Monday, Mr. Trump’s three lawyers, Mr. Smith and other lawyers in the Department of Justice met Mr. By Smith Group.
Mr. Budovich appeared in a Miami courtroom around 9 a.m. for what turned out to be an hour or two of questioning.
Prosecutors were keen to hear the report that Mr Trump kept his aides, shortly after news broke that National Archives officials recovered 15 boxes of material from him in January 2022. Mr. Budovich Mr. Time.
The statement Mr. Trump originally wanted to send said he had returned all of the presidential items he had, two people briefed on the matter said. A draft of the report was put together, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors have kept that draft statement and have asked witnesses about emails sent between aides about it, according to the people briefed on the matter.
The report’s claim that Mr Trump has returned all government records in his possession is false. After discovering that 15 boxes contain very important documents, still Mr. Prosecutors have issued a subpoena demanding the return of classified documents in Trump’s possession. Mr. Trump’s lawyers subsequently hit back, but the FBI later accused Mr. While searching Trump’s private club and Mar-a-Lago in Florida, another secret item was found.
After the withdrawal of 15 boxes in early 2022 Mr. The statement that Trump actually sent did not say that he had returned all the government goods he had.
After his grand jury appearance, Mr. Budovich posted a message on Twitter saying he answered “every question honestly.” He described the grand jury investigation as “a bogus and deeply troubling attempt to use the government’s power to get Trump.”
His attorney, Stanley Woodward Jr., declined to comment.
Mr. Budovitch’s appearance is Mr. It comes amid signs that the investigation into the Smith documents is nearing its end, and Mr. He is set to make a decision on whether to indict Trump or some of his aides. In court filings last year, Mr. Prosecutors indicated they were investigating whether Trump violated them and whether he blocked government efforts to recover them.
Mr. who will break the 2020 election. The special counsel’s office is also conducting a separate investigation into Trump’s efforts. The status of that investigation appears to be slightly behind the classified documents case.
Most of the documents are being investigated by a grand jury sitting in Washington, which has spent the past several months investigating Mr. heard from numerous witnesses, including some of Trump’s White House advisers; Some low-level workers at Mar-a-Lago; And more than 20 of his Secret Service security detail.
Only a handful of witnesses — including some Mar-a-Lago employees — have appeared before a grand jury in Miami that appears to have begun hearing testimony last month, familiar with its operations. It remains uncertain how many more witnesses are scheduled to testify before a Miami grand jury sitting in federal court in the city.
Recently, a grand jury in Washington has deadlocked or suspended investigations, according to people familiar with its operations. The last witnesses to testify in Washington did so in early or mid-May, some of them said.
Prosecutors eventually said Mr. If Trump were to blame — as he and some of his advisers are said to believe — Mr. Whether Smith’s team will file charges in Washington, Miami or both remains an open question.
The documents show that several central events in the investigation occurred in Florida — possibly the Mar-a-Lago search by the FBI last summer — and the case was opened by national security lawyers working at the Justice Department in Washington. Legal experts have debated which location provides the best venue for lawyers to defend criminal charges.
