Washington: According to the Washington Post, there is evidence of possible obstruction of justice in the investigation into former US President Donald Trump's alleged misuse of classified documents.
Text messages from a former Trump aide are allegedly being investigated as part of the investigation, according to unnamed sources.
Trump's retention of documents, including some that were secretly protected by laws, after leaving office is the subject of a federal investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
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According to a report published on Sunday by The Washington Post, the case involving Trump's successor, President Joe Biden, is "significantly different" due to the suspicion of obstruction.
Similarly, it was discovered last year that the current US president was in possession of classified documents, in this case from his time serving in the Barack Obama administration.
The US National Archives allegedly made numerous attempts to persuade Trump to return the disputed materials, which he kept at his residence at the Mar-a-Lago exclusive resort.
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These efforts reportedly culminated in a surprise FBI raid in August of last year. According to reports, Smith is concentrating on the time before the raid and after May, when Trump's legal counsel were served with a subpoena requiring the return of all items that were still missing at that time.
Investigators, according to the newspaper, discovered "significant evidence" that Trump had searched through boxes containing the files during that time, "apparently out of a desire to keep certain things in his possession,"
according to the newspaper. Molly Michael, a former assistant to Trump, is said to have sent some of the information investigators have discovered in emails and texts.
As a "witch hunt" with political overtones, Trump has dismissed the allegations against him. In a statement to the Washington Post, his spokesperson, Steven Cheung, alleged that officials in Smith's office "have now resorted to prosecutorial misconduct by illegally leaking information" from the investigation.
Cheung claimed that the sources for the newspaper were trying to "corrupt the legal system and weaponize the justice system in order to manipulate public opinion and conduct election interference."
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Trump has declared his intention to run for president in 2024, but he is under investigation for a number of things. A grand jury has indicted him in connection with an alleged hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and he is scheduled to appear for his arraignment in a New York court on Tuesday.
Regarding the alleged use of campaign funds to pay Daniels to keep quiet about their brief relationship, Trump is reportedly facing over 30 counts, including one criminal charge.