The Justice Department wants their Obama judge overseeing the Mar-a-Lago documents case to hold Trump in contempt.
They want him punished for not fully complying with a subpoena from back in May to return all classified documents from Mar-a-Lago despite the fact that they’ve already seized everything.
Here’s more from Wapo:
Prosecutors have urged a federal judge to hold Donald Trump’s office in contempt of court for failing to fully comply with a May subpoena to return all classified documents in his possession, according to people familiar with the matter — a sign of how contentious the private talks have become over whether the former president still holds any secret papers.
In recent days, Justice Department lawyers have asked U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell to hold Trump’s office in contempt, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sealed court proceedings. But the judge has not yet held a hearing or ruled on the request, they said.
The request came after months of mounting frustration from the Justice Department with Trump’s team — frustration that spiked in June after the former president’s lawyers provided assurances that a diligent search had been conducted for classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago Club and residence. But the FBI amassed evidence suggesting — and later confirmed through a court-authorized search — that many more remained.
The precise wording of the filing could not be determined because it remains under seal. Trump is under investigation for three potential crimes: mishandling classified documents, obstruction, and destruction of government records.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the former president’s lawyers “continue to cooperative and transparent.” He added: “This is a political witch hunt unlike anything like this country has ever seen.”
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
What these Biden prosecutors are calling ‘classified’ are documents that Trump maintained he declassified before moving them out of the White House. That’s the core issue here and I would hope the judge would recognize that when ruling on this motion.
That said, I expect nothing to go Trump’s way in this because that’s just how things go for Republicans.