Looking at the diary about Mark Meadows appearing before the Jack Smith grand jury, I wanted to see what the full NYTimes story had to say. But what caught my eye was not that piece, but a sidebar story: Grand Jury in Florida Hints at Unknown Complexities in Trump Document Inquiry.
So, as it turns out, a brand new grand jury that nobody has known about has started meeting in Florida to look into the Mar A Lago documents!
The latest twist in the inquiry into former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of classified documents is the surprise revelation that a previously unknown federal grand jury in Florida has recently started hearing testimony in the case.
The grand jury in Florida is separate from the one that has been sitting for months in Washington and has been the center of activity for prosecutors as they investigate whether Mr. Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving office or obstructed efforts to retrieve them. Among those who have appeared before the Washington grand jury in the past few months or have been subpoenaed by it, people familiar with the investigation said, are more than 20 members of Mr. Trump’s Secret Service security detail.
As for the Florida grand jury, which began hearing evidence last month, only a handful of witnesses have testified to it or are scheduled to appear before it, according to the people familiar with its workings. At least one witness has already testified there, and another is set to testify on Wednesday.
The story continues, noting that two separate grand juries could possibly bring separate charges in both Florida and Washinton, DC.
It’s also possible, according to the Times, that the DC grand jury is wrapping up and prosecutors are preparing to file charges there while the investigation continues in Florida.
Another consideration would be that the Florida grand jury is investigating activity by those who work at Mar A Lago and who might have committed crimes there but not in DC.
This is quite a surprise, coming out now. Makes me think that the criminal investigation is really going strong, and Smith is leaving no stones unturned to find out what really happened with the documents, and what degree if criminality is involved.