Donald Trump Classified Documents Scandal: Jack Smith Hands Over 1st Set of Discovery Materials to Trump Legal Team

After Donald Trump was charged with 37 criminal counts regarding his handling of classified documents, Special Counsel Jack Smith has handed over discovery materials to the Trump legal team. These are the first of many expected to be presented during the upcoming trial of the former president.

A court filing revealed that the handover happened last Wednesday and the material presented included documents and evidence gathered by Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team through subpoena, search, or grand jury testimony. Also included in the handover is a reproduction of "key" documents, as well as photographs deemed important to the case. Prosecutors also handed the Trump team complete copies of CCTV footage.

According to ABC News, should the Trump legal team want to inspect any unclassified items that the government retrieved during the FBI's August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, they can arrange for it.

The former president has since denied any wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents, claiming that he had the right to do so, as well as claiming that he had already declassified these documents. He pleaded "not guilty" to all 37 criminal charges laid out against him.

Donald Trump's Legal Team Also Handed Over Ex-POTUS's Interviews to Jack Smith

While Smith's team has handed over their discovery documents, CNN reported that the Trump legal team also "turned over multiple recordings of the former president's interviews with members of the media and book authors to federal prosecutors."

In a court filing last Wednesday, Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed that they have received tapes of interviews that Donald Trump did with various media outlets and book authors. These interviews were recorded with his consent but it was not known how the Trump team obtained these tapes to hand over to prosecutors. This showed what kind of evidence Smith and his team has against Trump.

The additional recordings, particularly ones he had with authors, made them sympathetic to the ex-POTUS. However, sources say that the Trump legal team is confident that the recordings they gave to prosecutors are not as incriminating as the recording referenced in the Trump indictment.

That previous recording, which was obtained by investigators, featured Trump talking to book authors regarding his chief of staff, Mark Meadows's memoir. This recorded Trump showing off classified documents to his interviewers and admitting, "This is secret information. Look, look at this ... See as president I could have declassified it."

Prosecutors Investigated Donald Trump's New Jersey Golf Club From the Start

That infamous recording was taken from Donald Trump's New Jersey Golf Club in Bedminster. It is now revealed that Jack Smith and his team have been looking at Bedminster from the very beginning of the investigation.

According to The Guardian, prosecutors allege that Trump traveled with classified documents between Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster, with prosecutors investigating this early into the probe. Within a few weeks of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, indications that there were also classified documents in Bedminster surfaced after the Trump team was told that prosecutors believe Trump is still in possession of even more classified documents.

In the end, the Trump legal team actually worked with prosecutors to find these documents. In one exchange, they even asked prosecutors which Trump properties to search. This led to the Trump team handing over more classified documents that the ex-POTUS allegedly hid.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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