Former President Donald Trump tried to cut a deal with the National Archives and Records Administration to exchange boxes of material held at Mar-a-Lago for documents related to the FBI’s investigation of his ties to Russia, according to a report.
Although they never pursued it, Trump floated an idea to aides to try trading Mar-a-Lago documents later raided by the authorities for confidential documents he thought would exonerate him on Russia, per New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt.
BEN SASSE AND THE BATTLE OVER WHAT KIND OF CONSERVATIVE LEADS THE GOP
Trump was reportedly angry with the National Archives for its unwillingness to hand over the sensitive documents related to his 2016 campaign, hatching the exchange idea.
The former president formed a habit of bringing documents to his White House bedroom in the early days of his term, the New York Times reports, eventually leading to headaches about tracking which materials were located where in the executive mansion.
That eventually culminated in the raid that brought Trump back to the forefront of American politics.
Despite the high-profile document seizure and the ensuing legal battle between Trump’s team and the Department of Justice, federal officials reportedly believe the former president has not returned all documents in his possession upon leaving the White House.
Trump has asked the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling that halted a decision to permit a special master to examine documents marked as classified that were obtained during the raid of Mar-a-Lago in a search for privileged materials. The high court has asked the Justice Department to respond to Trump’s request by Tuesday at 5 p.m.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IN THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Unsealed court filings revealed that Trump is being investigated under the Espionage Act, as well as related to laws regarding obstruction of justice. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
