Well, this is about the most Trumpy thing ever. Donald Trump's lawyer, Jennifer Little, reportedly warned him, in no uncertain terms, "it's going to be a crime" if you don't comply with a federal subpoena to return the classified documents Trump had stored at Mar-a-Lago.
Not only that: Little told federal investigators Trump "absolutely" understood her warning.
The revelations came earlier this year during a grand jury appearance overseen by special counsel Jack Smith amid his inquiry into Trump's mishandling of sensitive government documents, according to ABC News. Little's testimony preceded Smith's June indictment of Trump for illegally retaining classified documents.
The exchange between Trump and Little allegedly took place during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago that also included lawyer Evan Corcoran, a recent addition to Trump's legal team at the time.
Little, who is currently part of Trump's defense team in the Georgia-based election interference case, allegedly told prosecutors that she stressed the point repeatedly throughout the meeting.
"You've got to comply," she told Trump, according to anonymous sources familiar with her sworn testimony.
Little attempted to separate the federal subpoena from previous efforts by the National Archives to retrieve the documents, telling him that going forward his actions would have "a legal ramification."
She allegedly explained that if Trump conducted a more thorough search of his Florida residence that turned up more documents and he subsequently returned them all, he would be in the clear.
However, failing to return all documents would have consequences moving forward.
"Once this is signed—if anything else is located—it's going to be a crime," Little recalled telling Trump, according to sources familiar with her testimony.
When prosecutors asked if Trump understood, she responded, "Absolutely."
Trump said something akin to, "OK, I get it," according to Little's testimony.
So here we are:
- Trump is assured that doing X would "be a crime."
- Trump "absolutely" understood the consequences of doing X.
- Trump does X anyway.
- Trump complains about being the victim of a "WITCH HUNT!"
Immediately after being indicted in the case in June, Trump took to his social platform to accuse Smith of being a “deranged lunatic,” a “Trump Hater,” and a “psycho that shouldn’t be involved in any case having to do with ‘Justice.'"
Trump has continued to rail against Smith, who brought a second indictment against him for his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Earlier this month, Trump threatened in a Truth Social post that Smith and several other current and former Justice Department officials would end up in "a Mental Institution by the time my next term as President is successfully completed."
"MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he added.
Indeed.
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