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Donald Trump and his associates allegedly repeatedly contacted a former Mar-a-Lago employee who knew of key conversations and moments in the federal classified documents case against the former president.
According to multiple human sources and other material accessed by CNN, Mr Trump took a rare step and reached out to the employee a few days after he quit working at the Florida estate to inquire why he was leaving.
Mr Trump’s associates later allegedly offered the former employee free tickets to a golf tournament.
The former employee, who later told the federal special counsel’s office investigating the documents case about the communications, even allegedly got an offer from Mr Trump’s lawyer for assistance in finding legal representation, with the lawyer mentioning in a voicemail that he was aware the former employee had been subpoenaed to provide information to a grand jury.
The Independent has contacted the Justice Department and a lawyer for the former president in the documents case for comment.
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The voicemail, from Mr Trump’s since-resigned lawyer John Rowley, was previously reported by The New York Times.
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“It’s my understanding that you got a grand jury subpoena,” the attorney said, according to a recording of the voicemail obtained by the paper. “Would you please give me a call at your first opportunity?”
Mr Rowley told the paper in September he wasn’t trying to influence anyone’s testimony and was sincerely offering to help find a lawyer for the employee.
An aerial view of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/10/09/15/Trump_Mar-a-Lago_30221.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/10/09/15/Trump_Mar-a-Lago_30221.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/10/09/15/Trump_Mar-a-Lago_30221.jpg" data-gallery-length="2" class="i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content">
An aerial view of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The individual, who has not been named in media reports, was allegedly present or knew about potentially key moments under scrutiny in the classified documents case.
The employee moved various boxes for Mr Trump and was aware of conversations between the former president and employees regarding the documents.
In June, Mr Trump was indicted on 37 felony counts related to his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, including 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
A month later, he was hit with a superseding indictment alleging new counts, including that he unlawfully retained potential military attack plans against Iran.
Mr Trump and two aides Waltine “Walt” Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira have also been accused of attempting to delete security footage that could be handed over to federal investigators.
The former president has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty, as have his aides.
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1/ 2Trump contacted ex-Mar-a-Lago employee turned witness, report claims
Trump contacted ex-Mar-a-Lago employee turned witness, report claims
An aerial view of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Trump contacted ex-Mar-a-Lago employee turned witness, report claims
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
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