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Special counsel Jack Smith is nearing the end of his criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Smith is “wrapping up” the probe and has “all but finished” collecting evidence and testimony related to boxes of classified material found by the FBI at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and residence last August.
Prosecutors on Smith’s team reportedly have interviewed virtually every employee at Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., estate – in some cases, multiple times – in an effort to determine whether Trump had criminal intentions behind his failure to turn over sensitive documents from his time in the White House to the National Archives and Records Administration.
Through a flurry of grand jury interviews in recent weeks, the Journal reports, Smith’s investigators have also sought to “tie up loose ends” and determine the potential claims Trump’s lawyers might raise in the event charges are brought.
The report added that some of Trump’s closest associates are “bracing for his indictment” and foresee the 2024 presidential candidate being able to fundraise off new charges, similar to what happened after the 76-year-old was indicted by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg earlier this year.
