Trump likely to be indicted on classified documents hoarding issue

WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump is likely to be indicted latest by August this year as his lawyers expect him to be charged criminally by the Department of Justice in hoarding of highly classified documents at the end of his presidency.

"You should expected to be indicted by this year (likely in August)", some of his top advisors and legal team have given him fearlessly this rather unwelcome advice, media reports said.

The FBI has been investigating whether or not Trump tried to obstruct its investigation prior to last year's raids on the ex-president's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Trumps legal team warning follows his indictment by local prosecutors in lower Manhattan courts in New York in April for alleged falsification of business records. Before summer ends, the Fulton County, Georgia, court is expected to decide whether or not to indict Trump on election fraud charges. He was accused of interfering in the election process when his aides entered the election booths in the county.

Trump's attorneys have asked him to prepare for another long drawn legal tussle. Trump has reportedly reacted angrily as his manner rubbishing these predictions saying then "what about Joe Biden?" (A small number of classified documents have been discovered at a number of locations connected to Biden, including his garage; the Department of Justice has named a second special counsel to look into the matter, per latest developments).

As Trump has announced his candidacy for presidency in 2024, he is yet to be approved at the GOP primaries, some in the conservative circles are reportedly bracing for a distinct possibility of Trump, the current front runner among the republicans, will face indictment across a range of investigations. The indictments range from the Georgia probe into election interference to the Mar-a-Lago documents probe.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that two Trump employees removed boxes of papers last June, the day before DOJ lawyer Jay Bratt visited Mar-a-Lago with federal agents to collect classified material after a subpoena had been issued a month earlier. Investigators view as suspicious the behavior and a possible sign of obstruction.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the special counsel investigation appears to be wrapping up an exhaustive series of interviews and grand jury appearances by Trump aides and employees.

Signs of Trump's nervousness were also revealed in a letter Trump himself mailed to from his lawyers to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding a meeting "at your earliest convenience" to discuss the special counsel probe.

Prosecutors are putting the magnifying glass to look into whether Trump tried to obstruct justice by withholding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence sought by the National Archives after his presidency ended.

Jack Smith, the special prosecutor in the case , has reportedly won stunning and rapid series of court room victories since his appointment in November last year.

National Archives sought to recover a set of missing boxes from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence thus initiating a probe and discovered that the former president had retained classified documents at the Florida club. This prompted DOJ subpoena to Trump for all outstanding classified documents.

Trump, it may be recalled, issued a blanket declassification order during his presidency and, the FBI began grilling the former president's National Security Council staffers about whether they'd heard of the alleged order.