'You’ve got to comply': Trump lawyer 'clearly' warned not cooperating with FBI docs subpoena is a crime
In one of his two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump, special counsel Jack Smith alleges that the former president jeopardized the United States' national security by storing classified government documents at Mar-a-Lago — documents that, according to Smith, should have remained in Washington, D.C. after Trump left office.
The U.S. National Archives asked Trump to return the documents; later, the FBI investigated the matter.
According to ABC News reporters Katherine Faulders, Mike Levine and Alexander Mallin, Trump attorney Jennifer Little warned Trump that it would "be a crime" if he didn't fully comply with the FBI.
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In an article published on November 30, the journalists explain that when Little met with Smith's office, she said she had "very clearly" warned Trump that cooperating with the FBI was mandatory — not optional.
"Sources said the lawyer, Jennifer Little, told investigators Trump 'absolutely' understood the warning, which came during a pivotal meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and another attorney, Evan Corcoran, who had recently joined Trump's legal team," according to Faulders, Levine and Mallin. "What Little allegedly told Smith's team earlier this year may shed further light on how Smith came to accuse Trump of knowingly violating the law, saying in his June 9 indictment against Trump that the former president defied a subpoena by hiding more than 100 classified documents from the FBI and even his own legal team, and then having his legal team certify otherwise."
Little, the ABC News reporters note, allegedly wanted Trump to realize that a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was "different from" the National Archives' request that he return documents he had taken from the White House.
"Little allegedly recalled to investigators that she tried to impress upon Trump how 'serious' the matter had become, with sources quoting her as telling investigators that she warned Trump, 'You've got to comply,'" Faulders, Levine and Mallin report. "But the indictment filed against Trump in Florida alleges that he did not comply and failed to turn over all documents in his possession, allegedly opting to obstruct Justice Department efforts."
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The ABC News journalists add, "In particular, according to the indictment, Trump tried to 'conceal his continued retention of classified documents' and 'caused a false certification to be submitted to the FBI' claiming that all classified documents had been returned."
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ABC News' full report is available at this link.
