Donald Trump Documents Probe: Justice Department Seeks to Hold Trump Team in Contempt for Failure to Comply With Subpoena
Donald Trump and his legal team may be held in contempt of court for failing to comply with a 6-month-old subpoena over his failure to return all classified documents to the government.
According to CNN, this came right after the Trump legal team hired an outside firm to conduct searches at four locations just before Thanksgiving. They found two more classified documents inside a storage facility in Florida, near Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago, and the Trump team turned them over to investigators.
When the Trump team turned over those documents, they said that they have now complied with the subpoena. However, the Justice Department did not see it that way and escalated the matter by telling DC District Chief Judge Beryl Howell that the searches weren't satisfactory.
So far, no action has been taken about this request yet. However, a hearing has been set for Friday. If held in contempt, Trump and his team could be facing legal fines.
Following the return of the two missing documents, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung stated, "President Trump and his counsel continue to cooperate and be transparent, despite the unprecedented, illegal, and unwarranted attacks by the weaponized Department of Justice."
Donald Trump Legal Team Assured Justice Department That All Classified Documents Were Returned Before Mar-a-Lago Search
The Justice Department has grown frustrated with the Trump legal team over the course of the last six months. This all started back in June when the subpoena for all classified documents was released. However, the Trump legal team told investigators that all documents with classified markings have already been returned.
This led to the daring FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home back in August, where they found boxes of documents in an unsecured location. Many of these documents were marked "Classified." Over 300 documents have now been recovered from Trump since he left office.
Two anonymous sources told the Washington Post that the Justice Department and the Trump team have repeatedly disagreed over the matter of appointing a custodian of records. The Custodian is supposed to state that all records have been returned to the government, but the Trump team continues to refuse to appoint one.
Donald Trump Facing Criminal Liability in Trump Documents Probe
The documents that former President Donald Trump took back home to Mar-a-Lago will be one of the things that Special Counsel Jack Smith, a war crimes prosecutor, will be looking into. This means that this puts more pressure on Trump as he faces criminal liability for bringing classified documents home.
Smith is also overseeing the investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection in addition to the Trump Documents probe.
As Fox News has pointed out, Donald Trump is currently facing various crimes for his refusal to turn over classified documents. These include the destruction of government records, obstruction, and mishandling of classified documents.
READ NEXT: Supreme Court Rejects Donald Trump's Plea to Step in on Mar-a-Lago Documents Case
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Legal Bomb Hits Trump: Special Counsel Eyes Contempt In Mar-A-Lago Stolen Docs Case - MSNBC
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