Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he would be changing members of the legal team representing him in the federal case over whether he mishandled classified materials, soon after he announced he would be indicted by the Department of Justice.
Trump will be represented by Todd Blanche and a law firm “to be named later,” he wrote on Truth Social. Attorneys John Rowley and Jim Trusty, who issued public comments on the case to CNN on Thursday, won’t be representing him in the case, Trump added.
“I want to thank Jim Trusty and John Rowley for their work, but they were up against a very dishonest, corrupt, evil, and ‘sick’ group of people, the likes of which has not been seen before,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social in a post on Friday morning. “We will be announcing additional lawyers in the coming days. When will Joe Biden be Indicted for his many crimes against our Nation? MAGA!”
On Thursday evening, Trusty appeared on CNN to discuss the case. He also gave an interview to NBC News’ “Today” on Friday morning about the charges.
Trump wrote that the changes were made because the case, which he described as the “greatest witch hunt of all time,” is moving to the court system in Florida. He did not provide other details about his plans.
Neither Trusty nor Rowley issued public comments on Trump’s announcement Friday. It’s not clear if they will continue to represent Trump on other matters.
Trusty told CNN the charges include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and illegally retaining classified documents under the Espionage Act. The federal indictment has yet to be unsealed.
It is the second criminal case for Trump, who is due to go on trial in New York next March in a state case stemming from alleged payments that were made in 2016. In that case, Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Meanwhile, Blanche is currently representing Trump in the Manhattan payments case. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan.
The cases do not prevent Trump from campaigning or taking office if he were to win the November 2024 presidential election. Legal experts say there would be no basis to block his swearing-in even if he were convicted and sent to prison.
Trump has previously said he declassified those documents while president. The case was thrust into the national headlines last August when the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Months later, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that a special counsel in the case, Jack Smith, would probe the classified records case and other federal cases against Trump.
“The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch,” Smith said in a statement after he was appointed. “I will exercise independent judgment and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”
Under federal law, defendants have a right to be charged where the activity in question took place. A Florida prosecution, legal experts say, could head off a drawn-out legal challenge from Trump’s team over the proper venue.
Trump’s legal troubles have not dented his popularity with Republican voters, according to Reuters-Ipsos polling. His main Republican rivals have so far lined up behind him to criticize the case as politically motivated.
The Republican state-by-state presidential nominating contest kicks off early next year, and the party is due to choose its nominee for the November 2024 election in July of that year.
On Friday, the White House repeatedly declined to comment on the Trump case and claimed the matter would be independently investigated. “We are just not going to comment on this case and would refer you to the DOJ, which runs its criminal investigations independently,” deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters on Air Force One.
A day before that, President Joe Biden told reporters that he did not pressure the Department of Justice into indicting his predecessor.
Moments after Trump announced changes to his legal team, he indicated on social media that Walt Nauta, a former aide, was indicted in the special counsel investigation into the classified documents. Alleged anonymous sources told CNN and other outlets that he was indicted.
“They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about ‘Trump.’ He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!” he wrote on Truth Social, referring to Nauta.
coup
Every fraudulent made up charge against Trump is exactly what this domestic terrorist fascist democrat fraudulently elected coup d’etat government, especially the doj FBI and CIA communist spies illegally and unconstitutionally amazing their agencies to spy and falsely accused and incarcerate The Real Americans in this new world order luciferian government , these demons been doing to this country citizens including spying and monitoring us illegally for the past 100 years or more, these are domestic terrorists bastards that need to be brought to Justice by the American people only, these Obama black racist anti-white anti-American luciferian government agencies need to be completely disbanded and old employees and newracist, commie woke hires need to be sent to Guantanamo for questioning & interrogation for Espionage sabotage and communist collaborating indoctrination with the intent of destroying the last free constitutionally governed country and replacing the Judicial Systems what Democrat pedophile Epstein island vacation illegal alien coddling Criminal woke facist Democrat Antichrist judges
No as mark Levine days these guys took the espionage act. Spread it out for more charges. A president is the espionage act. Not him. They want to go to jail and die there. This is what julie Kelly has always said.
This Country is seriously Corrupted Big Time,Fuck this whole Congressional system& Jurtrisional system of the United States of America Because It’s All Worthless and full of total Lawlessness, Unconstitutional Acts of TREASON, Tranny espionage ETC. By fraudulent & imposters of said, would be Not Sworn in by Oaths to Uphold any Legal Office by the Constitution of the United States of America. We the People for the People say, They, Work for the People,Not we the People work for them.If we don’t Agree with there agenda they try and control us like communism controled country or socialism controls country.America is a FREE Country. We Stand& Fight For Our Country’s Freedom & Law’s Uphold The original Constitution of the United States of America Now.
U S A. Fire All of Them& Hold Them All Accountable for All of there CRIMINAL actions against America.. NOW
Another Witch Hunt towards President Donald J Trump
Political party’s Democrat’s at it again and it is illegal,for Fake president Biden to use his power to try and illuminate his opposite party during an election. What About All of Biden’s illegal activity’s he has been doing as Vice President with document’s found in his many places in his possessions in many many places all over America? Why hasn’t He Been Charged Yet for his Criminal actions, Not to mention all of his criminal actions involvement with China and other Countries making money breaking Laws too with his Criminal family members that goes back years before his fake presidency? They will Stop At Nothing to Stop President Donald J.Trump and the 2024 election, even if they are Making things Up. Unbelievable, Totally Corrupted at All LEVELS…????