Trump lawyers in for a 'bad Christmas' after new filing in documents case, Sen. Whitehouse says
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said Donald Trump's attorneys in the federal case over his alleged mishandling of classified documents are in for a "bad Christmas," after a new court filing by prosecutors on Wednesday suggested they have additional evidence against the former president.
Whitehouse, who previously served as Rhode Island's attorney general, said Wednesday in an interview with MSNBC the filing told him that "the special counsel thinks he's got a very solid case and doesn't need to be cute."
Trump and Walt Nauta, his longtime personal aide, both pleaded not guilty in Miami federal court earlier this month. Trump was indicted on charges of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act, making false statements and conspiracy to obstruct justice, in addition to other charges.
"There's going to be bad Christmas for the Trump lawyers as they open the different piles of evidence and find out how awful the evidence is against their client," Whitehouse said. "It tells me that they want to get Trump's attention early by getting his lawyers the evidence that they need to be able to go to their client and say, 'Hey, you are in real trouble here.'"
Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed U.S. district judge overseeing the case, tentatively scheduled the start of the trial for Aug. 14.
Trump has claimed the charges against him are politically motivated and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
In an interview on Monday, Trump claimed he did not return boxes of classified documents because they were mixed with some of his personal belongings.
"I had boxes," Trump said. "I wanted to go through the boxes and get all of my personal things out. I don't want to hand that over to NARA yet."
"And I was very busy," Trump added, "as you’ve sort of seen."
Special Counsel Jack Smith has previously said he will seek a "speedy trial" in the case and defended the integrity of the investigation.
"This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged," Smith said after the indictment was unsealed.