Trump’s 'foolish' letter demanding Garland meeting shredded by former prosecutor

With reports indicating that special counsel Jack Smith is near the end of his investigation into classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to display a letter his lawyers sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, demanding a meeting over what they called the "outrageous and unlawful" investigations.

"Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly," the letter raged.

But this letter is not a serious legal tactic, argued former federal prosecutor Harry Litman on Twitter Wednesday — rather, it is a stunt to try to stoke public outrage.

"As ever, Team Trump foolishly mixes law and politics," wrote Litman. "If you have one point to make to get a meeting with the AG, comparing Trump to 'Hunter and the Biden family' is not the way to go. The letter was written for public consumption."

In general, Justice Department policy is for the attorney general to accept the charging decision of a special counsel — and to clarify exactly the reason why if they depart from it.

Experts don't know the likelihood that Smith will recommend indictment in either the classified document case or the concurrently-running investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Another former prosecutor, Elie Honig, has suggested that it's a "coin flip" whether Trump will face charges for the concealment of classified documents — which would likely take the form of obstruction of justice, rather than the Espionage Act — and somewhat less likely that he'll face charges over January 6.

However, Robert Ray, who oversaw the end of the Whitewater investigation and represented Trump during his first impeachment proceeding, suggests that the letter is a sign the Trump team already believes it's a "foregone conclusion" Smith will recommend charges, and their only option is to persuade Garland to overrule him.