U.S. President Donald Trump confers with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows while departing the White House Sept. 1, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
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U.S. President Donald Trump confers with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows while departing the White House Sept. 1, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
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Mark Meadows, President Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff, recently testified before a grand jury weighing the handling of classified documents once Trump left office and alleged obstruction of justice as the government probed the matter, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Though the substance and location of Meadows’ testimony were unclear on Wednesday, the apparent ramped up pacing of witness testimony could signal that the special counsel Jack Smith’s probe is nearing a conclusion.
“Mr. Meadows has maintained a commitment to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so,” George Terwilliger, Meadows’ attorney previously told NPR in a statement.
Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers have received notice from the Justice Department that Trump is a target of the Mar a Lago documents inquiry, according to a source with knowledge of the letter. That notice gives lawyers a chance to argue against indictment. Under DOJ regulations, targets are supposed to get “reasonable” notice before they are indicted. People who get target letters are usually indicted, but not always.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, said: “No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong.”
This latest turn comes amid media reports of a parade of high-profile witnesses testifying over the past few weeks before a grand jury in Florida and in Washington D.C.
Taylor Budowich, a former aide to former President Trump who now leads the Super PAC, MAGA Inc., testified before a grand jury in Miami on Wednesday.
News media are set up outside of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse where a grand jury is meeting, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Miami.
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News media are set up outside of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse where a grand jury is meeting, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Miami.
Lynne Sladky/AP
“Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to “get” Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front a federal grand jury and I answered every question honestly,” Budowich tweeted.
He said via Twitter that he was fulfilling his legal obligation and answered every question honestly.
But he called the case a “bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to get Trump.”
As special counsel, Smith can bring this matter before any federal court. It is unclear why a grand jury has been convened in Florida instead of Washington D.C. where the bulk of efforts related to this probe has traditionally taken place.
The dispute over records at Mar-a-Lago in Florida exploded into public view in August 2022, when FBI agents executed a search warrant at the property while Trump was out of town. The former president tweeted about the search, which set off a weeks-long legal tug of war in Florida and D.C.
Trump has denied any allegations of inappropriate accessing of the classified material. No charges have been brought forth thus far by the special counsel.
This story originally appeared on NPR
