Former President Trump: My lawyers have met with special counsel Jack Smith's team

2023-07-27 22:52:08, Kosova & Bota CNA

Former President Trump: My lawyers have met with special counsel Jack

WASHINGTON – Lawyers for former President Donald Trump met with members of special counsel Jack Smith's team on Thursday ahead of the possible indictment of the former president's efforts to sway the 2020 election, a person in the knowledge of the matter.

Former President Trump's lawyer, John Lauro, also participated in the meeting, the person told the Associated Press news agency, on condition of anonymity.

Former President Trump himself confirmed the meeting with a post on the social network Truth Social, where he wrote that "My lawyers had a fruitful meeting with the Department of Justice this morning, explaining in detail that I have done nothing wrong, I have took the advice of many jurists, and that an accusation against me would further destroy our country".

He added that "during the meeting there was no indication of an official announcement" of charges.

Former President Trump, the front-runner for the Republican primary, was informed earlier this month by special counsel Smith's office that he was the target of a Justice Department investigation, suggesting that indictment could soon follow.

The investigation has focused on the tumultuous two-month period after the November 2020 election when Mr Trump refused to concede defeat to Democrat Joe Biden and spread unsubstantiated claims that his victory had been stolen. The instability resulted in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, when his loyalists stormed the building, assaulted police officers, and disrupted the congressional counting of electoral votes. More than 1,000 people have already been charged with federal crimes in connection with the attack on the Capitol.

In the period between the election and the attack on the Capitol, Mr. Trump called on local officials to overturn the results in their states, pressured Vice President Mike Pence to halt the certification of electoral votes and made baseless claims that the election was rigged — despite the fact that officials multiple federal and local courts, a long list of courts, top campaign officials and even his attorney general had said there was no evidence of the manipulation he claimed.

A spokesman for special counsel Smith declined to comment on Thursday's meeting. Mr. Lauro, former President Trump's lawyer, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Former President Trump was accused last month by Smith's team of prosecutors of illegally obtaining and keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and hiding them from investigators. He was also indicted in March in New York on charges of falsifying corporate records in connection with a payment to ensure the silence of a pornographic actress. Also, prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are preparing to announce charges in the coming weeks in connection with efforts to overturn the election results in this state./ VOA