Federal grand jury hears testimony about Trump's motive for taking classified documents: report
Special counsel Jack Smith's team is reportedly focusing on former President Donald Trump's motives for taking classified material related to the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Longtime journalist Murray Waas first reported that prosecutors had questioned at least three people about Trump's possible motives for removing the classified documents.
The questions originate from Trump's attempt to declassify thousands of pages of documents related to the Russia investigation in the days before leaving office. The then-president was said to be angry when the documents were not released.
"Now, sources close to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation tell me that prosecutors have questioned at least three people about whether Trump’s frustrations may have been a motive in Trump taking thousands of pages of classified papers from the White House to Mar-A-Largo, in potential violation of federal law," Waas reported. "One of those people was compelled to testify before a federal grand jury, the sources say."
The prosecutors are said to be establishing Trump's intent in removing the classified documents.
"Insight into the president’s frame of mind—his intent and motivation, are likely to be the foundational building blocks of any case that the special counsel considers seeking against Trump," Waas noted.