Lawyers for former President Donald Trump met with Justice Department officials on Monday following a public request for a meeting about what they characterize as prosecutorial misconduct, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting, which lasted an estimated 90 minutes, comes as the special counsel’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents and possible obstruction appears to be nearing its final stages. Trump’s attorneys did not comment to reporters after leaving.
The meeting was led by the Justice Department’s top career official, who works under Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Neither Monaco nor Attorney General Merrick Garland attended.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is handling the DOJ’s documents and obstruction probe into the former president, met with Trump’s lawyers at the Justice Department on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Smith was appointed by Garland last year and is operating independently.
CBS News first reported the meeting between DOJ officials and Trump’s attorneys and tweeted out an image of one of the attorneys entering the Justice Department headquarters.
A grand jury is expected to hear testimony this week from another witness in the classified documents probe at a federal courthouse in southern Florida, which is where the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago was approved, according to one source.
In requesting the meeting last month, Trump attorneys John Rowley and James Trusty wrote in a letter to Garland posted on Trump’s social media platform that “no President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion.”
Defense attorneys sometimes meet with prosecutors when a charging decision is imminent. But sources familiar with the probes previously told CNN that Smith has not informed Trump’s attorneys that he is close to such a decision.
It remains to be seen whether Smith has interviewed Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, a potentially key witness, and it is unclear when Smith might release his findings in a final report to Garland or decides on any charges.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the grand jury expected to hear from a new witness is based in southern Florida.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.
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