Ex-FBI Official: Defense Lawyer's Notes Show Trump Had 'Criminal Intent'
Former President Donald Trump and his defense team have made a wide range of arguments against special counsel Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago documents case, from claiming that any government material he had at his South Florida estate had been declassified to saying that Smith was improperly appointed because he wasn't approved by the U.S. Senate.
Smith has also been fighting with Trump's legal team over audio notes that former Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran made of his conversations with the former president in 2022 before the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago.
Trump's lawyers want Corcoran's notes tossed out as evidence — an idea that Smith vehemently opposes.
Former FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi is arguing that the notes show "criminal intent" on Trump's part.
In a June 25 post on X, formerly Twitter, Figliuzzi wrote, "This is what we call criminal intent. Trump asks Judge Cannon to toss it: Donald Trump expressed concern that returning classified docs after subpoena could result in criminal charges, sealed notes say - ABC7 Chicago."
That day, Judge Aileen Cannon — the Trump appointee assigned to the case — held a hearing on the notes' admissibility as evidence.
Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll reports, "In one conversation, Trump allegedly said that he didn't want to hand over classified documents to authorities because it would open 'new fronts' for his enemies to prosecute him."
O'Driscoll points out that after a May 2022 meeting, Corcoran said of Trump, "He raised a question as to, if we gave them additional documents now, would they, would they, the Department of Justice, come back and say well, why did you withhold them and try to use that as a basis for criminal liability or to make him look bad in the press."
In his notes, the attorney said that Trump "repeated many times that he felt he was really being targeted."
Reprinted with permission from Alternet.
