Trump Lawyer Meets With Investigators Over Certification of Mar-a-Lago Documents Christina Bobb said she had assurances from Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran that a thorough search had been conducted Spoiler By Alex Leary , Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman Updated Oct. 11, 2022 7:57 pm ET The certification by Christina Bobb was undermined two months later when the FBI searched the Florida compound and retrieved boxes of presidential records that belong to the National Archives along with classified documents. Ms. Bobb’s interview with Justice Department investigators on Friday marked the latest twist in the confrontation between the former president and the government over missing records. Since the August search, federal officials have continued questioning whether they have all the documents from the Trump administration that should be in government possession, either because they are classified or covered by laws governing the handling of presidential records. Advertisement - Scroll to Continue Authorities are focusing on more than 70 empty folders, some of which were marked classified, that were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago among the more than 20 boxes they carted away, according to people familiar with the matter. Federal officials also have expressed concern about whether Mr. Trump took documents on flights as he traveled from Mar-a-Lago to his other properties in New York and New Jersey, according to a person familiar with the matter. A spokesman for Mr. Trump didn’t respond to a request for comment. Lawyer Evan Corcoran, a member of former President Trump’s legal team.Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images Ms. Bobb provided new details about the sequence of events that culminated in August’s search, according to the person familiar with the matter, including her interactions with Evan Corcoran, another member of the legal team. She said she first met Mr. Corcoran on June 3, the day she said he asked her to sign that ”any and all responsive documents” had been returned. According to two people familiar with the case, Ms. Bobb did so only after insisting that it include language stating she was doing so “based upon the information that has been provided to me,” and “to the best of my knowledge.” Mr. Corcoran, a former assistant U.S. attorney, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Ms. Bobb, whose Friday meeting was earlier reported by NBC News, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The former president has said he has been unfairly targeted. Ms. Bobb’s account could pose legal jeopardy for Mr. Corcoran, who on June 3 handed Justice Department officials a folder containing some sensitive documents. Ms. Bobb, who hadn’t until then been involved in the handling of the documents, was told by Mr. Corcoran that he had conducted a thorough search of Mar-a-Lago storage areas, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Mr. Corcoran said because he was involved in the document transfer, he couldn’t serve as an official custodian of the documents and sign a certification about them, that person said. The Justice Department has said it found evidence of obstruction of its investigation, noting in court filings that records were likely concealed and removed from a storage room while the investigation was progressing. A person close to Ms. Bobb said she voluntarily met with prosecutors. She is represented by lawyer John Lauro. Agents removed 11,000 documents from the Florida resort during the Aug. 8 search, including about 100 marked as classified. In addition to obstruction, prosecutors have said they are investigating potential violations of the Espionage Act, which governs classified information, and a presidential records law requiring that White House records go to the National Archives. Newsletter Sign-up Capital Journal Scoops, analysis and insights driving Washington from the WSJ's D.C. bureau. A federal judge, acting on a motion from the Trump team, last month appointed an independent arbiter, or special master, to review documents seized in the search. Mr. Trump’s lawyers want the documents marked classified included in the special master’s examination, while the Justice Department opposed that request, saying it needed immediate access to them as part of its investigation. The Supreme Court is currently weighing a request from the Trump team to intervene in the case after a ruling by an appeals court limited the special master’s review. The Justice Department on Tuesday asked the high court to deny that request, reiterating its stance that Mr. Trump has no right to the 100-or-so documents with classified markings. In its response, it wrote: “[The] applicant has no plausible claim of privilege in or ownership of government records bearing classification markings. As the court of appeals recognized, applicant thus has no basis to demand special-master review of those records.” The Supreme Court could rule on the Trump team’s request at any time. The documents dispute dates to early 2021, when officials with the National Archives and Records Administration approached the former president’s team requesting missing presidential records. In January, 15 boxes of material were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. That was supplemented by the material handed over by Mr. Corcoran in June and the material recovered in August during the FBI’s search. A senior Justice Department official recently told Mr. Trump’s lawyers that law-enforcement officials don’t believe the former president has returned all the documents he took with him when he left the White House, The Journal reported last week. The outreach was prompted in part by concerns about why dozens of folders, including more than 40 marked classified or bearing classified banners, were empty when the FBI seized them in August, people familiar with the matter said. Investigators previously said in court filings that they found evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room where Mr. Trump’s lawyers had assured during conversations earlier this year that all of the documents were held. Ms. Bobb, once a host for One America News Network, lives in Florida and was connected with Mr. Corcoran through another Trump lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, on June 2. Later that day, Mr. Corcoran called her to say he needed help with a certification, according to a person familiar with the conversation. The following day at Mar-a-Lago they met with a small group of Justice Department officials. Mr. Trump dropped in to say hello. “I appreciate the job you’re doing,” he told the federal agents. “Anything you need, let us know.” Mr. Corcoran turned over an accordion folder containing 38 documents marked as classified, including 17 described as top secret, 16 marked as secret, and five more marked as confidential. Mr. Trump’s team has portrayed the day as one of cooperation, though the Justice Department said Mr. Corcoran wouldn’t let the agents look in the remaining boxes in the storage room to confirm no more classified documents were in them. Write to Alex Leary at [email protected], Aruna Viswanatha at [email protected] and Sadie Gurman at [email protected]
He fucked up. You're supposed to tell someone else who then tells the person. You don't do it directly
Judge Cannon: Actually presidents words don’t mean anything when you have your fingers crossed behind your back.
Considering how compromised trump clearly is, and what the war in Ukraine looks like, our compartmentalization is clearly impressive
Are we now at the stage in the movie where Trump associates start slipping on staircases, "accidentally" getting shot while on safari and falling out of airplanes?
You only get dissents for these kind of summary orders when someone really wants to make a point. It didn’t even deserve referral to the full court given the underlying procedural history and the failure of the petition to address a dispositive reason for reversing Cannon’s initial order. Even Thomas and Alito aren’t going to stick their neck out for that just to whinge.
Not a rhetorical question but isn’t the SS job to be the personal security/cop for POTUS? I don’t know what oath they take but my general understanding is to protect the president at all costs, not the presidency/democracy. Along the lines of good cops bad cops argument, would good SS be reflective more of the POTUS than SS based on their job description? Im not defending SS in this case but more understanding if their job requirements led them to be complicit to the sitting president by law.
I submit as evidence my Amazon Fresh order from January 5, in which I ordered a week's worth of canned good because I knew there would be violence but wasn't sure where or how it would impact supply chain. If I knew, they knew. The prosecution rests
Even if you don’t believe they have an obligation to the Constitution, they are supposed to protect the Vice President from mobs of people chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”
Yep, the VP has a full time secret service detail that should have been very concerned with people trying to kill him, or the potential for violence against him. On the other hand, I’m not sure what happens if the president is trying to kill the vice president.
Seems like an overreach, where do we draw the line at who the President can attempt to kill? Slippery slope my friend.