According to new reports, most notably from Politico, the U.S. Department of Justice is likely moving toward charging former President Donald Trump in its investigation that led to the search warrant executed at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.  This is according to a former DOJ counterintelligence chief who spoke to Politico.

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David Laufman is former chief of counterespionage at the DOJ, and he believes Trump will be chareged:

“It seems to me it’s moving in the direction of warranting criminal charges…I think [Trump] has significant criminal exposure. Whether they ultimately decide to exercise prosecutorial discretion in favor of prosecuting him is another question.”

Laufman’s analysis is significant because the division he used to be in charge of plays a key role in the  investigation in whether Trump mishandled classified and top-secret information after his term as President ended.

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Politico also pointed out the many hurdles that Attorney General Merrick Garland faces if the DOJ does indeed charge Trump in what would be, according to them, the “highest-profile criminal case in American history:”

“Political fallout, precedent and national security risk are just some of the intangibles Garland will have to consider as he considers what would potentially be the highest-profile criminal case in American history, according to former prosecutors, intelligence agency lawyers and Justice Department officials.

One consideration for Garland is how Trump’s alleged actions stack up against other cases DOJ has brought or not brought over mishandling classified information. A second factor is how confident prosecutors are they could win at trial — knowing the political fallout of a losing case against a former president could be devastating.

“Donald Trump Rally 10/21/16” by Michael Candelori Photography is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

And finally, Garland has to consider the damage that a trial might have on national security secrets, given the nature of the Mar-a-Lago document seizures.”

 

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Christopher Powell