Trump team in special counsel meeting included attorney from classified documents case and a recent addition
From CNN's Kristen Holmes and Evan Perez
The members of former President Donald Trump’s legal team who attended Thursday’s meeting with special counsel Jack Smith are John Lauro and Todd Blanche, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Lauro recently joined the team to handle matters related to the 2020 election and the run-up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Blanche has represented Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and the Manhattan criminal case stemming from a hush-money scheme. The former president was indicted in both cases.
1 min ago
From Mike Pence to "fake" electors: Here’s who has testified before the January 6 grand jury
From CNN's Casey Gannon and Hannah Rabinowitz
Republican presidential candidate former Vice President Mike Pence leaves a campaign stop at the Machine Shed Restaurant on June 8, 2023 in Urbandale, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images
For months, federal prosecutors have brought witnesses in front of a grand jury in Washington, DC, to investigate efforts by former President Donald Trump and his close allies to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The witnesses, several of whom appeared under subpoena, range from low-level aides to Trump’s own vice president. There are also several key witnesses who have met with prosecutors for interviews.
Any indictment that comes from the sprawling probe into aftermath of the election, efforts to overturn the result or the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol will likely rely, at least in part, on what those individuals testified to under oath behind closed doors.
Here’s who’s appeared before the grand jury:
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff
Marc Short, former chief of staff to Pence,
Greg Jacob, a former aide to Pence
Former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino
Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone
Patrick Philbin, Cipollone’s deputy
Stephen Miller, a former White House speechwriter and senior adviser to Trump
Former Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli
Special counsel Jack Smith attended meeting with Trump’s legal team today
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Special counsel Jack Smith attended the meeting with former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The two teams met Thursday as a potential federal indictment looms, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
25 min ago
Special counsel concludes meeting with Trump's lawyers without guidance about timing of possible indictment
From CNN's Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene, Casey Gannon, Holmes Lybrand and Katelyn Polantz
An exterior view of a US Department of Justice building that houses the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A meeting between former President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers and the special counsel Jack Smith’s office has concluded without Trump’s team getting any guidance about the timing of a possible indictment, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Meanwhile, there has been more activity around the grand jury meeting Thursday at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC.
The grand jury, which has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has reconvened at the courthouse after breaking for more than an hour.
Also, several prosecutors from Smith’s office arrived at the courthouse, joining another prosecutor who arrived earlier this morning.
52 min ago
Trump's team hoped to delay a possible indictment by meeting with special counsel
From CNN's Evan Perez, Jamie Gangel, Sara Murray and Tierney Sneed
In seeking a meeting with special counsel Jack Smith’s team, former President Donald Trump’s lawyers hoped to at least delay any potential plans for a grand jury to hand up an indictment Thursday, people briefed on the plans said.
The grand jury, which has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has convened at a federal courthouse in Washington, DC, today.
Trump’s lawyers believe that if the grand jury does not approve an indictment Thursday, the meeting may buy the former president at least a few more weeks.
The team also expected to discuss the logistics of how a potential indictment and arraignment of the former president would work, another source familiar with the legal team’s thinking tells CNN.
Some context: Trump’s political and legal strategy has been to delay any possible trials — including until potentially after the 2024 election — and to put the Justice Department in an uncomfortable position where they are pursuing a prosecution of President Joe Biden’s chief 2024 rival even as primary voters are beginning to have their say.
Every day they can push back the handing up of an indictment is a day that pushes back an ultimate trial date.
50 min ago
Trump's legal team met with the special counsel today as potential indictment looms
From CNN's Kristen Holmes, Evan Perez, Jamie Gangel, Kaitlan Collins and Katelyn Polantz
Former President Donald Trump's legal team met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith as a potential federal indictment looms, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Trump announced last week that he’d been named as a target of Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and events leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
This is the second time Trump is facing potential charges brought by Smith's team. Trump was charged earlier this year in Smith's probe into the mishandling of classified documents from his White House.
He was also notified by prosecutors ahead of time that he was a target in the documents probe. His lawyers met with prosecutors from Smith's team around the time he was notified, and the classified documents indictment was then brought against him later that month.
24 min ago
What we know about the special counsel investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election
From CNN's Dan Berman, Kaitlan Collins, Zachary Cohen, Paula Reid, Sara Murray and Katelyn Polantz
Special counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors have been looking at the various ways former President Donald Trump tried to overturn his 2020 electoral loss despite some of his top officials advising him against the ideas.
Prosecutors have been interested in a December 18 Oval Office meeting, a sign of the special counsel’s broader effort to home in on the actions of several Trump lawyers and allies during the period from December 14, 2020, to January 6, 2021.
The December 14 date is of particular interest to prosecutors, sources told CNN earlier this month. On that day, slates of alternate Republican electors in seven battleground states signed certificates falsely asserting Trump had won. Also that day, members of the Electoral College met in all 50 states to officially cast their ballots, declaring Joe Biden the winner with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232.
Investigators have focused on efforts to recruit the illegitimate electors, have them sign certificates falsely asserting Trump had won, and then use them as a pretense to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to delay certification of Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6.
At least one witness has told prosecutors that Trump allies asked Pence to question the legitimacy of Biden’s electors in those seven states based on unfounded claims about widespread voter fraud and kick the decision of certification back to the states themselves, one source said.
Trump has been fighting to keep former advisers from testifying about certain conversations, citing executive and attorney-client privileges to keep information confidential or slow down criminal investigators.
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith as a potential federal indictment looms, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
The meeting ended shortly before noon ET without Trump’s team getting any guidance about timing of a possible indictment. The former president had argued against this meeting because he believed the indictment was already a done deal, two sources familiar with his thinking said.
The grand jury hearing evidence from the special counsel’s probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election is sitting Thursday at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC. Last week, Trump said in a social media post that he had been informed that he is a target of the probe, a sign he may soon be charged. This is the second time Trump is facing potential charges brought by Smith’s team.
The members of former President Donald Trump’s legal team who attended Thursday’s meeting with special counsel Jack Smith are John Lauro and Todd Blanche, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Lauro recently joined the team to handle matters related to the 2020 election and the run-up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Blanche has represented Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and the Manhattan criminal case stemming from a hush-money scheme. The former president was indicted in both cases.
Republican presidential candidate former Vice President Mike Pence leaves a campaign stop at the Machine Shed Restaurant on June 8, 2023 in Urbandale, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images
For months, federal prosecutors have brought witnesses in front of a grand jury in Washington, DC, to investigate efforts by former President Donald Trump and his close allies to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The witnesses, several of whom appeared under subpoena, range from low-level aides to Trump’s own vice president. There are also several key witnesses who have met with prosecutors for interviews.
Any indictment that comes from the sprawling probe into aftermath of the election, efforts to overturn the result or the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol will likely rely, at least in part, on what those individuals testified to under oath behind closed doors.
Here’s who’s appeared before the grand jury:
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff
Marc Short, former chief of staff to Pence,
Greg Jacob, a former aide to Pence
Former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino
Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone
Patrick Philbin, Cipollone’s deputy
Stephen Miller, a former White House speechwriter and senior adviser to Trump
Former Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli
Special counsel Jack Smith attended the meeting with former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The two teams met Thursday as a potential federal indictment looms, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
An exterior view of a US Department of Justice building that houses the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A meeting between former President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers and the special counsel Jack Smith’s office has concluded without Trump’s team getting any guidance about the timing of a possible indictment, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Meanwhile, there has been more activity around the grand jury meeting Thursday at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC.
The grand jury, which has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has reconvened at the courthouse after breaking for more than an hour.
Also, several prosecutors from Smith’s office arrived at the courthouse, joining another prosecutor who arrived earlier this morning.
In seeking a meeting with special counsel Jack Smith’s team, former President Donald Trump’s lawyers hoped to at least delay any potential plans for a grand jury to hand up an indictment Thursday, people briefed on the plans said.
The grand jury, which has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has convened at a federal courthouse in Washington, DC, today.
Trump’s lawyers believe that if the grand jury does not approve an indictment Thursday, the meeting may buy the former president at least a few more weeks.
The team also expected to discuss the logistics of how a potential indictment and arraignment of the former president would work, another source familiar with the legal team’s thinking tells CNN.
Some context: Trump’s political and legal strategy has been to delay any possible trials — including until potentially after the 2024 election — and to put the Justice Department in an uncomfortable position where they are pursuing a prosecution of President Joe Biden’s chief 2024 rival even as primary voters are beginning to have their say.
Every day they can push back the handing up of an indictment is a day that pushes back an ultimate trial date.
Former President Donald Trump's legal team met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith as a potential federal indictment looms, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Trump announced last week that he’d been named as a target of Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and events leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
This is the second time Trump is facing potential charges brought by Smith's team. Trump was charged earlier this year in Smith's probe into the mishandling of classified documents from his White House.
He was also notified by prosecutors ahead of time that he was a target in the documents probe. His lawyers met with prosecutors from Smith's team around the time he was notified, and the classified documents indictment was then brought against him later that month.
Special counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors have been looking at the various ways former President Donald Trump tried to overturn his 2020 electoral loss despite some of his top officials advising him against the ideas.
Prosecutors have been interested in a December 18 Oval Office meeting, a sign of the special counsel’s broader effort to home in on the actions of several Trump lawyers and allies during the period from December 14, 2020, to January 6, 2021.
The December 14 date is of particular interest to prosecutors, sources told CNN earlier this month. On that day, slates of alternate Republican electors in seven battleground states signed certificates falsely asserting Trump had won. Also that day, members of the Electoral College met in all 50 states to officially cast their ballots, declaring Joe Biden the winner with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232.
Investigators have focused on efforts to recruit the illegitimate electors, have them sign certificates falsely asserting Trump had won, and then use them as a pretense to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to delay certification of Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6.
At least one witness has told prosecutors that Trump allies asked Pence to question the legitimacy of Biden’s electors in those seven states based on unfounded claims about widespread voter fraud and kick the decision of certification back to the states themselves, one source said.
Trump has been fighting to keep former advisers from testifying about certain conversations, citing executive and attorney-client privileges to keep information confidential or slow down criminal investigators.
