Special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election is honing in on a bizarre Oval Office meeting which took place during the last days of his administration, according to a report.
CNN reported that investigators have questioned multiple witnesses about the December 2020 meeting which included former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.
While the months-long investigation appears to be heating up, Trump’s co-defendant in his federal criminal case appeared in court on Thursday. Longtime aide Walt Nauta pleaded not guilty to charges of assisting Trump in concealing classified documents from the government.
This came nearly a month after Trump was arraigned on the 38-count federal indictment accusing him of unlawfully retaining national defence information and obstructing justice.
Meanwhile, an unredacted affidavit revealed that surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago allegedly shows dozens of boxes were moved in the days before investigators from the Department of Justice visited to retrieve records.
Trump himself has admitted behind closed doors and on audio that he doesn’t have the authority to declassify some of the documents he kept with him, particularly those detailing military tactics.
The former president followed up with another post on Truth Social later in the evening, reiterating many of the same claims: “Deranged Jack Smith purposefully omitted the Presidential Records Act from his sham Indictment, even though he knows that the PRA is the only law that applies to this subject. Nor does he mention the Clinton Socks Case, or any of the many others cases that are exactly on point, and completely vindicate me. He should be ashamed of himself but, more importantly, he, the DOJ, and the FBI, should be sanctioned for PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT and Grand Jury Abuse. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!”
