Well, the document case against Trump just took a wild turn, and former President Trump is fuming.
He’s so mad that he called for Smith’s arrest on his social media platform “Truth Social.”
“Now, Deranged Jack has admitted in a filing in front of Judge Cannon to what I have been saying happened since the Illegal RAID on my home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida – That he and his team committed blatant Evidence Tampering by mishandling the very Boxes they used as a pretext to bring this Fake Case,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday. “These deeply Illegal actions by the Politicized ‘Persecutors’ mandate that this whole Witch Hunt be DROPPED IMMEDIATELY. END THE ‘BOXES HOAXES.’ MAGA2024!”
“ARREST DERANGED JACK SMITH. HE IS A CRIMINAL!” Trump added in a follow-up post.
In a recent court filing, prosecutors have admitted a discrepancy concerning the handling of documents related to former President Donald Trump’s case. The filing acknowledged that in some instances, the order of items within boxes of seized documents did not match their associated scans. This admission is a departure from earlier assertions that the documents were maintained “in their original, intact form as seized.”
If part of the documents case against Trump is going to involve the placement, order, and condition of the documents as they were seized by the FBI, it appears that Jack Smith has already messed up the evidence. https://t.co/4ILf60S4Fy
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 6, 2024
The issue came to light after one of Trump’s co-defendants requested a delay in the proceedings, citing difficulties in tracing the origins of some documents within the evidence boxes. The acknowledgment of this inconsistency by the prosecutors is a significant development, as it contrasts with previous representations made to the court.
From Fox News:
Prosecutors admitted in a court filing on Friday that “there are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans.” The prosecutors had previously told the court that the documents were “in their original, intact form as seized.”
The case centers around 33 boxes of documents seized by the FBI in August 2022 from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. This action has led to a complex legal battle, with Trump labeling the investigation a “scam.” Special Prosecutor Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is overseeing the case, which involves charges against Trump including violations of the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The DOJ’s Doctored Crime Scene Photo of Mar-a-Lago Raid
–@julie_kelly2 https://t.co/Gw9oFNs9Hr— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 6, 2024
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has criticized the investigation as an “Election Interference Scam” orchestrated by the Biden administration and Special Prosecutor Smith, whom he refers to as “Deranged Jack Smith.”
The trial is currently set for May 20, though this date could be subject to change. The presiding judge, Aileen Cannon, has been managing a significant amount of documents related to the case, which includes more than 300 pages of unredacted evidence such as emails and communications. These documents reveal interactions between the Biden administration and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) prior to the seizure at Mar-a-Lago.
According to the filings, shortly after Trump left office, the White House Office of Records Management began collaborating with NARA on claims concerning the handling of records under the Presidential Records Act. This led to an inquiry about the whereabouts of certain missing presidential records, including correspondence between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, and the letter left by President Obama for President Trump.
A copy of the letter Trump’s lawyers sent to Jack Smith about special counsel’s confession that evidence is not in its original form–and something the lead prosecutor, Jay Bratt, erroneously attested to in court last month. pic.twitter.com/b0zhgfK6oZ
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 7, 2024
As the situation developed, stern communications were exchanged between NARA and Trump’s representatives, with concerns escalating to the point where NARA officials contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ). This eventually led to a criminal referral being sent to the DOJ in February 2022.
The unsealed documents also detail interactions and concerns involving DOJ officials and White House counsel regarding the missing boxes of documents, which were eventually partially recovered in January 2022. The review of these boxes prompted further actions by DOJ officials concerning the handling of the matter.
This case continues to unfold with significant legal and political ramifications, attracting attention and commentary from various sectors as it develops.
