Trump lawyers, DOJ are in sealed court hearing
Newslooks- (AP)
Former President Donald Trump’s legal defense team and prosecutors handling the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation are at federal courthouse in Washington, DC, Thursday morning in a secret dispute related to the unprecedented investigation.
The lawyers – including James Trusty, Evan Corcoran and Lindsey Halligan for Trump, and prosecutor Julie Edelstein and several others from the Justice Department who are known to be on the case – heading into a sealed proceeding before Chief Judge Beryl Howell at the federal courthouse on Thursday, as reported by CNN.
The hearing appears to still be ongoing and their appearance in Washington is notable because this legal team typically appears in court in Florida or New York on the documents investigation.
The development is the latest sign of prosecutors attempting to move their investigation forward into the handling of documents from the Trump presidency after he left office.
Trump’s lawyers declined to tell reporters on the scene why they were at the courthouse.
Though Trump’s challenges to the search and seizure of Mar-a-Lago in August have been before judges in Florida, a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, appears to be handling the criminal investigation into obstruction of justice and mishandling of records, including national security secrets.
Close Trump adviser Kash Patel, who is designated to work with his records post-presidency, previously appeared before this grand jury two weeks ago and took the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer questions, another sign of prosecutors continuing to build their case.
In addition, the Justice Department has been demanding that all sensitive records that might still be in Trump’s possession be returned to the federal government.
At least some of that battle to secure the return of any more documents is part of an under-seal court proceeding.
Howell, of the US District Court in DC, typically handles disputes that arise related to grand jury proceedings, which are kept secret.
One potential resolution to the known matter the Trump lawyers are responding to in the Mar-a-Lago investigation could involve the Justice Department asking a judge to issue an order compelling the Trump team to work with DOJ to arrange for another search, according to CNN reporting.
