Pundits believe the Department of Justice is moving toward laying criminal charges against former President Donald Trump based on its Mar-a-Lago investigation.
Former Chief of Counterintelligence in the National Security Division at the DOJ, David Laufman, noted, “It seems to me [the DOJ is] moving in the direction of warranting criminal charges.”
“I think [Trump] has significant criminal exposure. Whether they ultimately decide to exercise prosecutorial discretion in favor of prosecuting him is another question,” Laufman continued.
Laufman’s assessment is remarkable considering that the division he used to head has a pivotal role in the DOJ’s investigation into Trump’s impropriety when handling classified records after he exited the Oval Office.
But Laufman’s statements also come on the heels of bombshell revelations made within the DOJ’s filing in response to Trump’s efforts to have a special master appointed to review the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
The legal filing, made on Tuesday (August 30), shows the strength of the DOJ’s case against Trump.
Tuesday’s filing details the DOJ’s belief that Trump’s aides attempted to obstruct the investigation and conceal documents.
Images that form part of the filing show highly classified documents being kept alongside Trump’s personal belongings, notably a framed 2019 Time Magazine cover that featured the former President.
Since the FBI raid on August 8, Trump has offered different defenses to the raid, primarily focusing on the documents’ classification, saying he had declassified the material seized by the FBI.
His lawyers have also argued that many of the records seized were covered by executive privilege, ensuring the privacy of presidential communications is protected.
