Donald Trump lawyers, DOJ meet for Mar-a-Lago hearing in sealed court: Report

The legal team representing former President Donald Trump and the prosecutors in charge of the investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents met at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, on Thursday morning to discuss the ongoing, unprecedented probe.

Trump’s attorneys James Trusty, Evan Corcoran, and Lindsey Halligan, as well as prosecutor Julie Edelstein and a number of other Justice Department personnel known to be involved in the case, were leaving the federal courthouse on Thursday for a sealed hearing before Chief Judge Beryl Howell, CNN reported.

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This legal team generally appears in court on the investigation of the document in Florida or New York, so their presence in Washington is noteworthy.

This development is the latest indication that prosecutors are trying to forward their inquiry into how papers from Trump’s presidency were handled after he left office.

The reason why Trump’s attorneys were in the courts was not disclosed to reporters who were present.

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Despite the fact that a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, appears to be in charge of the criminal investigation into obstruction of justice and improper handling of records, including national security secrets, Trump’s challenges to the search and seizure of Mar-a-Lago in August have been heard by judges in Florida. 

Another indication that prosecutors are seeking to strengthen their case is that Trump aide Kash Patel, who worked with the president’s records when he left office, already appeared before this grand jury two weeks ago and took the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer any questions.

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Additionally, the Justice Department has been demanding that Trump turn over any sensitive documents that may still be in his possession.

That legal struggle, in part, is an under-seal court process to get any additional records returned.

Disputes involving secret grand jury proceedings are normally handled by Howell of the US District Court in Washington, DC.

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The Justice Department might ask a judge to issue an order ordering the Trump team to cooperate with DOJ to arrange for another search as one possible resolution to the known matter to which the Trump lawyers are responding in the Mar-a-Lago inquiry.