Trump lawyers visit U.S. Justice Department amid documents probe
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[June 06, 2023]
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three lawyers for former President Donald Trump
left the U.S. Department of Justice Monday amid reports that federal
prosecutors are wrapping up an investigation into whether he mishandled
classified documents.
The three lawyers - Lindsey Halligan, John Rowley and James Trusty -
declined to answer questions as they left the building in Washington.
Trump, the front-runner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential
nomination, said he was being unfairly targeted.
"How can DOJ charge me, who did nothing wrong," Trump wrote on social
media. "The greatest witch hunt of all time!"
Several media outlets reported that his legal team was at the Justice
Department to argue that prosecutors should not bring charges against
Trump for his handling of sensitive government materials he kept after
leaving the White House in 2021.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/06/images/ads/current/werth_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
It is one of several criminal probes Trump faces as he seeks to regain
the presidency next year.
It was not immediately clear what any potential meeting between the
lawyers and the department may mean for Trump. Lawyers typically meet
with Justice Department representatives before an indictment is handed
down.
Trump's lawyers last month sent the department a letter asking for a
meeting with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Representatives for the Department of Justice declined to comment.
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![](../images/060623PIX/news_a60.jpg)
Former U.S. President and Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in
Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., April 27, 2023. REUTERS/Brian
Snyder/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/06/images/ads/current/graue_lda_GREYTRUCKpreowned_052223.jpg)
Trump is the first U.S. president past or present ever to face
criminal charges, having pleaded not guilty in April to felony
charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney of falsifying
business records relating to hush money paid to a porn star before
his election in 2016.
Media outlets said the grand jury was expected to hear from another
witness in the documents case this week.
Garland has tapped Special Counsel Jack Smith to oversee the
documents case as well as the role of Trump and others in a wide
range of actions surrounding his election loss that culminated in
his supporters' attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump over the weekend said he was "at least as innocent" as his
former vice president Mike Pence, who faced no charges after
cooperating with authorities when a classified document was found in
his Indiana home last year.
Federal investigators are examining whether Trump and his associates
broke the law by retaining U.S. documents after leaving the White
House and whether they then tried to obstruct the Justice
Department's investigation.
Trump also faces a state-level probe by a Georgia county prosecutor.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Susan Heavey,
Jacqueline Thomsen and Nathan Layne; Writing by Andy Sullivan;
Editing by Howard Goller)
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