WASHINGTON — An investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents has intensified in recent weeks, with prosecutors summoning a broad range of witnesses before a federal grand jury and zeroing in on questions of whether the former president or others obstructed government efforts to recover the records.
It remains unclear when the investigation led by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith might end or whether Trump might face charges over documents found at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate.
But as probes in Washington and Atlanta proceed, Republican critics of Trump see an opportunity for intensifying legal woes to take away his frontrunner mantle in the 2024 presidential race in a way that an earlier indictment in New York failed to do.
The ongoing investigations “are the ones that have the meat,” said Bobbie Kilberg, a longtime Republican donor who has become a vocal Trump critic.
“It’s very, very serious,” she said. “It ought to have a real impact on the American people. And if it doesn’t, all I can do is shake my head in bewilderment.”
A grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago case has heard testimony over the last few months from numerous Trump associates. Prosecutors have put before the panel a lawyer who helped respond to Justice Department demands for the classified documents last year, and have also been interested in Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage. At least one witness was asked to testify a second time, suggesting prosecutors may be looking to lock in particular testimony they view as useful, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secret legal proceedings.
In a message Friday on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Smith of “harassing and threatening my people” over the documents investigation, which he called a “hoax.” His lawyers have similarly sought to pre-emptively attack any indictment, telling the House Intelligence Committee in a letter last month that the Justice Department “should be ordered to stand down” from the probe.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that the investigations are “nothing more than a targeted, politically motivated witch hunt against President Trump” designed to prevent him from returning to the White House.
Investigators over the last year have cast a wide net.
They’ve interviewed witnesses about Trump’s handling of classified documents as president and about the response to a May 2022 subpoena that demanded the return of classified materials in his possession, people familiar with the matter have said.
They’ve also sought to determine whether Trump took steps to hide any records taken to Mar-a-Lago or showed them to anyone, as part of a continued focus on possible obstruction.