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Donald Trump is at risk of being charged with obstruction in the classified documents investigation as well as the Stormy Daniels hush money probe, according to reports.
Trump is already set to become the first U.S. president in history to be charged with a crime on Tuesday, after he was indicted as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation.
Ahead of Trump's arraignment, The Washington Post reported that the Department of Justice and the FBI have gathered evidence indicating possible obstruction by the former president as part of the federal probe into the classified materials found at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
There is also speculation that Trump's frequent attacks against Bragg and the D.A.'s hush money probe while denying any wrongdoing may result in the former president facing obstruction charges in New York.
Trump is reported to be facing more than 30 criminal charges related to business fraud in connection to Bragg's probe, which focused on a $130,000 sum that the Republican purportedly arranged for his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels to keep an alleged affair she and Trump had secret ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Investigators are also looking into whether any records were falsified when Cohen was reimbursed for the payment, which was listed by The Trump Organization as legal fees. Trump denies all wrongdoing and denies having an affair with Daniels in 2006.
According to The Post, citing unnamed sources, Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the top secret materials found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort last August has gathered evidence that suggests the former president may have willfully obstructed the federal attempt to retrieve the classified documents, which were removed from the White House in January 2021.
Trump denies all wrongdoing, with his office accusing Smith's investigation of having "no basis in facts or law."
According to The Post, Trump is alleged to have told people to mislead government officials who were trying to recover the materials in early 2022, before the FBI issued a subpoena for their return. Trump is alleged to have ignored requests from several advisers to give back the documents, and then told his lawyers to release statements that said he had returned them all to the National Archives and Records Administration.
After receiving the government subpoena in May 2022, Trump is alleged to have looked through some of the boxes of government documents out of an apparent desire to keep certain things in his possession.
The Post previously reported that Walt Nauta, a valet driver at Mar-a-Lago, is alleged to have been ordered by Trump to move boxes of documents into a storage room at Mar-a-Lago after the former president received the government subpoena to return the classified materials.
During a June 2022 FBI visit to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the sought-after materials, Trump's legal team is alleged to have "explicitly prohibited" federal agents from looking inside a storage room at Mar-a-Lago.
The FBI then raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022 and seized more than 100 classified and top secret documents, including some found in the storage room.
In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said: "The witch-hunts against President Trump have no basis in facts or law.
"The deranged special counsel and the DoJ have now resorted to prosecutorial misconduct by illegally leaking information to corrupt the legal process and weaponize the justice system in order to manipulate public opinion and conduct election interference, because they are clearly losing all across the board."
Bragg's Investigation
Elsewhere, there is also speculation that Trump's constant attacks against Bragg and the Manhattan D.A's investigation may amount to obstruction.
Amid indications the historic indictment was coming, Trump warned of the potential for "death and destruction" if he was charged under Bragg's probe. In March, Trump shared an article on Truth Social that used an image of the former president holding a baseball bat next to a photo of Bragg, which critics suggested incited violence against an official, as well as obstruction of justice.
Roger Stone, a veteran political strategist and Trump ally, claimed on Twitter on Sunday that sources had told him that the Manhattan D.A.'s office may bring obstruction charges against the former president because of the "'threats' (Criticism) of Bragg and the Judge in the case."
Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who began the investigation that led to Trump's indictment, warned Trump could face obstruction charges because of his frequent attacks on Bragg.
"And I think if I were his lawyer — and believe me, no one has called up to ask for my advice — I would be mindful of not committing some other criminal offense like obstruction of governmental administration, which is interfering with or by threat or otherwise the operation of government," Vance told NBC Newson Sunday.
"And I think that could take what perhaps we think is not the strongest case — when you add a count like that, put it in front of a jury, it can change the jury's mind about the severity of the case that they're looking at."
Possible Obstruction
Noah Bookbinder, former attorney and president of Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW), also previously suggested Trump's attacks on Bragg and his "death and destruction" threat before he was indicted could amount to obstruction.
"Trump's public statements are arguably threatening, and they appear designed to intimidate D.A. Bragg, potentially into not charging Trump when he otherwise would have. That could be obstructing governmental administration under New York law," Bookbinder tweeted on March 24.
"Attempts to intimidate or threaten prosecutors are generally taken very seriously and often charged and punished. Of course, that usually doesn't include public statements from a public figure, so this case could be treated differently.
"But it's worth at least thinking about whether Trump is making his legal situation worse by appearing to try to spur on his supporters to intimidate a prosecutor investigating him."
Trump's legal team has been contacted for comment via email.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more