Mar-a-Lago Staffers Called to Testify About Classified Docs

Dozens of subpoenas apply to servers, housekeeper, Trump aides: CNN
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2023 9:57 AM CDT
Mar-a-Lago Staffers Called to Testify About Classified Docs
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.   (Department of Justice via AP, File)

While a grand jury in Manhattan is hearing from witnesses as it considers an indictment of former President Trump over a hush money payment to a porn star, another in Washington, DC, is expected to hear from at least two dozen witnesses as it weighs Trump's handling of classified documents. At least 24 people—including members of Trump's inner circle, along with restaurant servers and a housekeeper at his Mar-a-Lago resort—have been subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury, CNN reports. Communications aide Margo Martin, who worked at the White House before moving with Trump to Florida, testified on Thursday but declined to tell a reporter what questions were raised.

Investigators led by special counsel Jack Smith are "casting an extremely wide net—anyone and everyone who might have seen something," a source tells CNN. They're interested in what Mar-a-Lago staffers may have heard or seen during their daily duties. They've recently spoken with Trump aide Walt Nauta and a Mar-a-Lago staffer who were filmed moving boxes from a storage room, CNN reports, adding many of the subpoenaed staffers are "represented by counsel paid for by Trump entities." But prosecutors are also keen to hear from those with close ties to the former president. Former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and former Trump adviser Kash Patel are among those who've already been subpoenaed, per CNN.

Prosecutors have also asked a judge to force Trump defense lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify about his conversations with Trump as they relate to classified documents. Prosecutors are especially interested in a phone call between the pair that took place on June 24, 2022—the same day investigators subpoenaed the Trump Organization as they sought to secure documents and video surveillance from Mar-a-Lago, reports ABC News. Called before the grand jury, Corcoran refused to answer key questions, citing attorney-client privilege, though prosecutors claim the use of the "crime-fraud exception." The judge's decision is expected within days, per CBS News. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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