Ex-White House official says Trump understood declassification procedures: report

08 June 2023

Early June 2023 finds former President Donald Trump in a position that is unprecedented in United States history. Trump remains the clear frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 34 percent in a Morning Consult poll released on June 6. But his success in the primary comes as his legal problems appear to be intensifying.

In addition to a 34-count criminal prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr., Trump is facing two separate federal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and special counsel Jack Smith as well as a criminal probe in Georgia by Fulton County DA Fani Willis.

One of Smith's two Trump-related investigations involves classified government documents he was storing at Mar-a-Lago. According to CNN, Smith's office interviewed a "key former White House official" earlier this year about "the handling of classified materials" by Trump and President Joe Biden.

In an article published on June 8, CNN reporters Zachary Cohen and Paula Reid explain, "During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes. While prosecutors in the Trump case aggressively focused on any first-hand interactions with the former president, including conversations about how to properly declassify documents, prosecutors in the Biden case were more concerned with the mechanics of packing and moving boxes into Biden's home in Delaware as his time as vice president came to an end."

When news broke that the DOJ was investigating Biden for having classified documents at his Delaware home, right-wing media pundits were quick to claim that mainstream media were going easy on Biden. But the president made it clear that he was happy to cooperate with the DOJ in its investigation, while Trump angrily railed against Smith and claimed he was the target of a baseless "witch hunt."

The former White House official, according to Cohen and Reid, was interviewed by CNN on condition of anonymity and "said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office."

"The interview with the former official, which has not been previously reported, is the latest indication that prosecutors are seeking evidence suggesting Trump understood the process for declassifying documents," Cohen and Reid report. "That could undercut Trump's claims that he automatically declassified everything he took with him to Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department recently informed Trump's legal team that he is a target in the classified documents investigation, sources familiar with the matter told CNN — a sign that prosecutors may be moving closer to indicting the former president."

Find CNN's full report at this link.

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