Ex-official: Trump’s ask for DOJ meeting ‘political messaging’
- Donald Trump's attorneys asked to meet with Attorney General Garland
- A special counsel is investigating Trump's handling of classified documents
- A former DOJ spokesman said the request is "political messaging"
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(NewsNation) — Donald Trump’s attorneys are taking the unusual step of asking for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying in a letter they want to discuss what they call “ongoing injustice” by the special counsel.
Former Justice Department chief spokesman for the Biden administration Anthony Coley said Wednesday on “The Hill on NewsNation” that the request shouldn’t be taken seriously.
“What I saw in this letter is not a real legal document; I saw a political messaging document. If it were a real legal document, it would have been addressed to (Special Counsel) Jack Smith,” Coley said. “I think what Donald Trump was trying to do is to communicate to his supporters that he is a victim, and the facts just don’t bear that out.”
Smith was appointed special counsel to oversee the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified information found at his Palm Beach, Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago. The FBI recovered some 100 documents during an Aug. 8 search, which came after months of wrangling with Trump’s legal team about the voluntary return of the material.
In the letter to Garland requesting a meeting, Trump’s legal team asserted the former presidents is “being treated unfairly.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday the probe is wrapping up.
Coley said he wouldn’t be surprised if the former president is indicted.
“Based on public information, I think we are much closer to the end than the beginning,” Coley said. “I would not be surprised if we saw some action before the one-year anniversary of the search on Mar-a-Lago.”