US media reports say an investigation is nearing accusations against the former president over documents found at his Florida home.
US prosecutors have told Donald Trump’s lawyers that he is under investigation for handling classified documents since he left office, according to multiple US media reports.
The notice came from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, ABC, The New York Times, CNN and other news outlets reported Wednesday.
The Justice Department typically notifies citizens if they are the subject of an investigation and gives them the opportunity to present their evidence before a grand jury. Notice does not necessarily mean that fees will be charged.
Trump, the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, pleaded not guilty in April to charges of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to adult movie stars before the 2016 presidential election. He is also facing a criminal investigation for allegedly trying to reverse his 2020 election defeat.
President Trump has claimed the investigations were politically motivated.
The classified documents investigation began in 2021 amid growing suspicion among federal officials that the former president had not returned all the documents he should have.
Last August, the FBI raided President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, finding nearly 13,000 items, despite previously saying that all confidential-marked documents had been made public. Found documents, 100 of which were marked confidential. Came back.
President Trump has defended the documents and suggested he declassified them during his presidency. However, President Trump has not provided any evidence for this claim, and court filings show that neither does Trump’s lawyers.
Trump is the first sitting and former U.S. president to face criminal charges, and his legal troubles are mounting.
In May, a Manhattan civil court jury awarded Trump $5 million in damages for defaming former Elle columnist E. Gene Carroll for sexually abusing and labeling her a liar. ordered to pay
