- Trump’s lawyers requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland in a Tuesday letter.
- The letter argued Trump is being “treated unfairly,” and has been “baselessly investigated.”
- Legal scholars indicate the move may signal Trump fears an indictment is looming.
Donald Trump’s lawyers in a Tuesday letter requested to meet directly with Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the ongoing investigation over classified documents.
“Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly,” the letter, posted by Trump to Truth Social, read. “No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful manner.”
Legal scholars argue the move to request an audience with Garland, the individual in charge of determining whether charges will be brought, may signal the former president is anticipating a looming indictment.
“This may mean Special Counsel Jack Smith has ALREADY reached a charging decision — and now all that’s left is for Garland to make the final approval to seek an indictment of Trump,” Tristan Snell, a former assistant attorney general for New York state who prosecuted Trump over his fraudulent university, posted on Twitter.
The DOJ and lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
In August, the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in South Florida, as part of a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice determining whether Trump had improperly taken classified documents from the White House during his presidency.
The investigation was launched when Trump turned over 15 boxes of the documents to the National Archives in February, after which the federal agency prompted the DOJ to investigate Trump over whether he still retained any documents.
When he returned the 15 boxes, Trump said that it was all part of a “collaborative and respectful process,” and that it was a “great honor” to work with the National Archives.
However, following the raid, Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents, making scores of baseless and bizarre claims.
He claimed without substantiation that he had the power to declassify documents, just by thinking about it.
“If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying: ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by thinking about it. Because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago, or to wherever you’re sending it,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity in September.
In January, he said that the documents found in Mar-a-Lago were empty folders marked as “classified,” which he kept because he thought they were “cool.”
His lawyer also said in February that a folder marked “classified” was empty and Trump used it to block a bright light beside his bed which annoyed him.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
