Early on Friday, former President Donald Trump sharply criticized a CNN report suggesting that Mar-a-Lago employees might be summoned by federal prosecutors to testify in his upcoming criminal trial regarding classified documents.
“Fake News CNN just did a story, leaked by Deranged Prosecutor Jack Smith and his massive team of Radical Left Lunatics, that various people saw papers and boxes at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump stated on Truth Social. “Of course they did!”
Trump further elaborated on the matter. “They may have been the boxes etc. that were openly and plainly brought from the White House, as is my right under the Presidential Records Act,” he said.
CNN’s report indicated that a diverse group of workers, including a plumber, a maid, a chauffeur, and a woodworker, might be witnesses in the case against Trump. This case concerns the alleged mishandling of classified documents found at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
Sources, who chose to remain anonymous, informed CNN that potential witnesses could include individuals from Trump’s inner circle spanning his business and political career, Secret Service agents, former intelligence officials and workers typically overlooked by the resort’s affluent guests.
Trump, in his post, labeled CNN’s coverage as “Breaking Fake News” and shifted focus to President Biden.
“But what about all of the papers, boxes, and documents found at NUMEROUS Crooked Joe Biden places, like his garage floor by his cherished Corvette, or CHINATOWN where it was just learned that boxes moved freely in and out,” he questioned.
He also pointed out a distinction in Biden’s case. Trump noted that Biden’s situation “doesn’t come under the Presidential Records Act” as he was not president at the time.
The Presidential Records Act mandates that a president must segregate personal and official records before leaving office. In August 2022, the FBI discovered over 300 classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
Trump also criticized the special counsel and prosecutors on Friday. He questioned the rationale behind spending “over $100,000,000 investigating him” and the amount allocated for probing Biden’s “much bigger boxes deal.”
The trial of Trump is scheduled to commence in Florida in May 2024. Judge Aileen Cannon is contemplating delaying the trial until after the presidential election. This delay concerns advocates who are eager for the trial to proceed before the next year’s election, fearing the impact on voter decision-making.
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