Report: Trump was Warned About Keeping Classified Documents

story

May 22, 2023

Image copyright: Jud McCranie [via Wikimedia Commons]story last updated May 22, 2023

The Facts

As special prosecutor Jack Smith investigates why former Pres. Donald Trump didn’t comply with a subpoena related to classified documents, a new report claims he was warned by Evan Corcoran, his lawyer, about keeping classified documents that had been subpoenaed for return last year.
Corcoran reportedly preserved around 50 pages of contemporaneous notes regarding his warning, information on how Trump and his valet arranged to have boxes moved between rooms at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, and how he had advanced knowledge of where Corcoran would be searching for documents.

The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

These notes are a big problem for the former president because they show how he and others around him were obstructing the government’s attempt to retrieve the documents. It’s frankly senseless that they were coordinating to move these boxes around and playing a shell game with the DOJ – considering there was no way they were going to get away with it.

Salon

Pro-Trump narrative

The continued targeting of Trump over this is ridiculous. Currently, there’s another special counsel investigating Biden’s possession of classified documents from when he was vice president, and former VP Mike Pence also faced a document controversy. In fact, every president since Reagan has been found to possess classified documents, yet none of these other former officials are being attacked and investigated like Trump.

Washington Examiner