Trump lawyer testified to grand jury in December in classified documents probe
Reuters
Published Mar 23, 2023 11:33PM ET
Updated Mar 24, 2023 05:16AM ET
By Jacqueline Thomsen
(Reuters) - An attorney for former U.S. President Donald Trump voluntarily testified before a Washington, D.C., federal grand jury in December 2022 on efforts to find any remaining classified documents at Trump's properties, the lawyer said on Thursday.
Attorney Tim Parlatore testified as part of a federal criminal investigation into classified documents retained at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Parlatore told Reuters that he appeared before the grand jury to explain to them "everything we did to comply" with a subpoena seeking any classified documents still in Trump's possession after he left office.
Parlatore said he organized searches of Trump's properties "to ensure full and legal compliance" with the subpoena for the documents. He also alleged he witnessed prosecutorial misconduct as he appeared before the grand jury. ABC News first reported on Parlatore's grand jury appearance.
When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for Trump directed Reuters to Parlatore's remarks. A spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the classified documents investigation, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The U.S. Justice Department said in court filings in 2022 that Trump was under investigation for his retention of sensitive government records after leaving office in January 2021, including whether he violated the Espionage Act that makes it a crime to release information harmful to national security.
Investigators were also looking into potential unlawful obstruction of the probe, the department said at the time.
FBI agents seized thousands of government records, some marked as highly classified, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort during a court-approved search on Aug. 8.
Trump later sued in August to seek the appointment of third-party arbiter, who would ensure no privileged documents were being reviewed by prosecutors. A federal appeals court in December dismissed the lawsuit and ended the outside review, which federal investigators said was delaying their work.
Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 appointed Smith to oversee the federal probes involving Trump after he announced he would run for the presidency in 2024.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.