In Washington, DC, — By stating in a motion submitted on Tuesday that they will contest the prosecution's claims that the estate where the records were kept was not secure, attorneys representing former president Donald Trump hinted at certain aspects of their defense in the criminal case accusing him of unlawfully retaining classified documents
In a comprehensive court filing, the defense team also stated their intention to communicate with the prosecution team from the Justice Department and Biden associates in order to support their assertions that the classified documents case is "politically motivated" and intended to undermine Trump's 2024 campaign.
The brief provides the most comprehensive overview of possible defense strategies in one of the four criminal charges that Trump is facing as he aims to win the Republican nominee and regain the presidency
It begs the court to order special counsel Jack Smith's team to provide a mountain of evidence.
As is typical of Trump team motions, it provides both legal analysis and political bombast
It cites Trump's historic win in this week's Iowa caucuses and calls the charges "partisan election interference"—words that the ex-president's legal team has used before, seemingly aimed at both campaign voters and the judge overseeing the case.
"The Special Counsel’s Office has disregarded basic discovery obligations and DOJ policies in an effort to support the Biden Administration’s egregious efforts to weaponize the criminal justice system in pursuit of an objective that President Biden cannot achieve on the campaign trail: slowing down President Trump’s leading campaign in the 2024 presidential election," claimed Trump’s legal team.
In spite of Trump's assertions to the contrary, the Justice Department and the White House did not work together; the former has denied knowing about the search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate by the FBI in August 2022, which resulted in the recovery of numerous classified documents that Trump had taken with him when he departed from the presidency.