On Wednesday afternoon, lawyers for President Trump were present at a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, where the matter at hand was whether Judge Cannon would grant a delay for the trial involving classified documents, which is currently slated for May 2024.
During the proceedings, Judge Cannon indicated her willingness to potentially reschedule Trump’s trial. Additionally, she also reprimanded one of Smith’s prosecutors as reported by Julie Kelly, who attended the hearing.
Notably, Trump’s legal team presented significant revelations during the Wednesday hearing, according to Julie Kelly.
- Trump’s lawyers told Judge Cannon they discovered a June 2023 letter asking DOE to remove Trump’s “active security clearance,” a few weeks AFTER Smith handed down classified documents indictment.
- Trump’s lawyers told Judge Cannon this afternoon they have evidence that the Biden White House collaborated with NARA, DOJ, and intel agencies to determine which documents to include in Jack Smith’s indictment.
- Trove of evidence includes “years” worth of security footage from Mar-a-Lago
- Evidence of “extensive communications” between White House, NARA, intel agencies and DOJ/Jack Smith prior to the indictment to determine which classified files to include.
- Trump still had DOE security clearance related to at least one charged document as recently as June 2023.
- Defense might include the Secret Service as a considered member of prosecution since they have their own security apparatus separate from Mar-a-Lago
I’ll post a story soon but some bombshell revelations:
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 1, 2023
• Trove of evidence includes “years” worth of security footage from MAL
•Evidence of “extensive communications” btw White House, NARA, intel agencies and DOJ/Jack Smith prior to indictment to determine which files to…
Another significant revelation stemming from Wednesday’s hearing is that Trump’s legal team has not had access to any substantiating evidence to validate the classification status of the approximately 340 documents reviewed by Jack Smith.
According to Julie Kelly: “Also from today’s hearing. Jack Smith told judge the classification review of 340 or so documents had been completed. Defense said they have memos confirming material is classified per intel review but no underlying evidence to support claim.”
Also from today’s hearing. Jack Smith told judge the classification review of 340 or so documents had been completed. Defense said they have memos confirming material is classified per intel review but no underlying evidence to support claim. https://t.co/kXqVSIfsPx
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 1, 2023
Memos examined by investigative reporter John Solomon reveal that the Biden White House collaborated closely with the Justice Department and National Archives to facilitate the inquiry into Trump’s management of documents.
Despite claims by Joe Biden’s spokesperson that he had no prior knowledge of the operation and learned about it from the media, the memos indicate that the Biden White House initiated the criminal investigation by revoking Trump’s executive privilege.
Joe Biden set the stage for his Justice Department to have his political rival arrested when he retroactively revoked Trump’s executive privilege.
As reported by John Solomon in August, “By May, [White House Deputy Counsel Jonathan] Su conveyed to the Archives that President Joe Biden would not object to waiving his predecessor’s claims to executive claims, a decision that opened the door for DOJ to get a grand jury to issue a subpoena compelling Trump to turn over any remaining materials he possessed from his presidency.”
On May 10, 2022, Acting National Archivist Debra Steidel Wall sent a letter to Trump’s legal team, disclosing the Biden White House’s role in the matter.
As per John Solomon, within two weeks of Debra Steidel Wall’s letter to Trump’s lawyers, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a grand jury subpoena to Trump’s counsel, demanding the return of documents stored at Mar-a-Lago.
Following the issuance of the subpoena, federal authorities arrived at Mar-a-Lago to retrieve specific documents and advised the former president to add an extra lock to the storage facility.
Two months thereafter, the FBI arrived at Mar-a-Lago and conducted a search of Trump’s possessions, prohibiting any of his lawyers from being in the vicinity.
In November 2022, not long after the incident at Mar-a-Lago, Jack Smith was designated as a special counsel tasked with investigating the documents kept at Trump’s Florida residence.
By June 2023, Trump faced a 37-count indictment related to Jack Smith’s classified documents case. Of these counts, 31 pertained to willful retention, and the remaining 6 counts encompassed charges like conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and making false statements and representations.
