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Trump responded to a report from the New York Post, claiming that Special Counsel Jack Smith met with the White House counsel’s office just weeks before indicting him of allegedly mishandling classified documents, stating that he was indicted “over nothing.”
“It has just been reported that aides to TRUMP prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, met with high officials at the White House just prior to these political SleazeBags Indicating me OVER NOTHING,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Former head of the Justice Department public integrity section and prosecutor, Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland last November to handle investigations of Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Smith’s top aide, Jay Bratt, met with White House’s counsel office Deputy Chief of Staff Caroline Seba on March 31, according to White House visitor logs reported by the New York Post. Notably, a D.C. FBI field office agent, Danielle Ray, also happened to be in attendance at the meeting with Bratt and Seba.
Giuliani, former attorney for Trump and also recently indicted with him in Georgia this month, commented on the discovery stating that there is no “legitimate purpose” for such a meeting to happen.
“There is no legitimate purpose for a line [DOJ] guy to be meeting with the White House except if it’s coordinated by the highest levels,” former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani told the New York Post.
Giuliani continued to state, “What’s happening is they have trashed every ethical rule that exists and they have created a state police. It is a Biden state prosecutor and a Biden state police.”
While the visitor logs do not provide what information was discussed during the meeting, coincidentally, nine weeks later, Trump was indicted by Smith’s office on June 8 for allegedly mishandling classified documents, obstructing justice, and making false statements.
The 37 felony counts accused Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, who was allegedly seen removing boxes at Mar-a-Lago, of risking the United States’ national security and “participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.”
“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” Smith stated after the indictment was released, according to PBS. “Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”