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Lawyers for former President Donald Trump will likely be searching for two categories of evidence following the federal indictment related to classified documents that were previously found at his Mar-a-Lago residence, according to a legal expert.
"Trump's lawyers are looking for two broad categories of evidence in discovery: evidence that is exculpatory and evidence that impeaches government witnesses," Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek on Tuesday.
On Friday, Trump was indicted on 37 counts related his handling of classified documents that were previously found at his residence in Florida, becoming the first former president to be indicted by federal prosecutors. Earlier this year, Trump faced legal trouble in Manhattan when he was indicted by a grand jury, following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for falsifying business records.
According to the recent indictment, Trump was accused of holding onto classified documents after leaving office and refusing to return them after prosecutors requested.
"The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack," the indictment said. "The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods."
Rahmani explained to Newsweek that exculpatory evidence could include something that shows the documents were not classified. "It also includes evidence that Trump cooperated with the National Archives and that he did not obstruct justice or otherwise impede their investigation," Rahmani said.
Similarly, according to Rahmani, evidence that is considered impeachable for government witnesses would include "any inconsistent statements or actions of government witnesses."
Michael McAuliffe, an elected state attorney in Florida and former federal prosecutor told Newsweek that Trump's lawyers will be searching for any evidence "that might be inconsistent with the allegations in the government's detailed speaking indictment."
"The defense will mount both a factual defense and also will challenge the legality of the process used to develop the evidence against Trump. This is a normal and expected part of the criminal justice process," McAuliffe told Newsweek. "The classified documents case puts Trump at his greatest risk legally, and possibly politically in the long-term. A trial will be a very controlled exercise in which Trump and his defense team will have to play by rules of evidence and courtroom conduct."
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more