Former President Donald Trump is said to have disregarded legal counsel to try to resolve the matter involving the confidential materials before a federal indictment that might result in jail time.
Christopher Kise, one of Trump’s attorneys, suggested contacting the Justice Department to negotiate a deal involving the return of the records in order to keep Trump out of jail. However, three sources told The Washington Post late Wednesday that Trump opted against trying to settle after hearing other attorneys advise litigation.
Accordingly, Kise in fall 2022 never reached out to prosecutors for a possible settlement. In mid-November, the Justice Department appointed special counsel Jack Smith to oversee the probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents he took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago home.
Fast-forward to June 9, the Justice Department unsealed a 37-count indictment against Trump. The former president pleaded not guilty to all counts in a federal court in Miami on Tuesday.
Trump in a speech at his Bedminster golf club assured his supporters that nothing will stop his 2024 presidential bid – but he could face decades behind bars due to the federal charges.
Kise did not comment on the report.
Now Trump’s lawyers are forging forward with defending the ex-president.
‘President Trump has consistently been in full compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which is the only law that applies to Presidents and their records,’ Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told The Post.
‘In the course of negotiations over the return of the documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, “anything you need from us, just let us know.”
‘Sadly, the weaponized DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted an unnecessary and unconstitutional raid on the President’s home in order to inflict maximum political damage on the leading presidential candidate.’
Trump has been relatively quiet since the historic day on Tuesday. On Wednesday, his 77th birthday, he made just a couple of posts on Truth Social about in indictment raising him millions of dollars and giving him ‘greater’ poll numbers. Early Thursday, he shared the full video of his remarks and thanked his supporters again.