Trump special prosecutor issues subpoenas to Mar-a-Lago staff – live | US politics

According to CNN, special prosecutor Jack Smith’s latest subpoena volley indicates a determination to learn every detail about the movement of classified documents around Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

News that the former president was holding government secrets at his south Florida property became public last year when the FBI searched the resort and carted away boxes of material. Attorney general Merrick Garland appointed Smith to handle both the documents case and the inquiry into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election result – though the former has become clouded by the revelations that both Joe Biden and Mike Pence also had classified documents at their properties.

That doesn’t seem to be stopping Smith, who CNN reports is demanding testimony from anyone who could have seen anything regarding the documents at Mar-a-Lago. Here’s more from their report:

On Thursday, Trump’s communications aide Margo Martin, who worked in the White House and then moved with Trump to Florida, appeared before the grand jury in Washington, DC. One of special counsel Jack Smith’s senior-most prosecutors was involved in the interview.

Martin, who is among a small group of former White House advisers who have remained employed by Trump after he left office, declined to answer any questions when approached by a CNN reporter.

Smith has sought testimony from a range of people close to Trump – from his own attorneys who represent him in the matter to staffers who work on the grounds of Mar-a-Lago, including a housekeeper and restaurant servers, sources said.

The staffers are of interest to investigators because of what they may have seen or heard while on their daily duties around the estate, including whether they saw boxes or documents in Trump’s office suite or elsewhere.

“They’re casting an extremely wide net – anyone and everyone who might have seen something,” said one source familiar with the Justice Department’s efforts.

For instance, federal investigators have talked to a Mar-a-Lago staff member seen on security camera footage moving boxes from a storage room with Trump aide Walt Nauta, who has already spoken with investigators.

Many of the Mar-a-Lago staffers are being represented by counsel paid for by Trump entities, according to sources and federal elections records.

Good morning, US politics blog readers. We learned a little bit more about special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, when CNN reported that the prosecutor had sent subpoenas to a number of staffers at the south Florida resort – among them, restaurant servers and a housekeeper. Smith has been tasked with recommending whether to charge Trump over both his retention of classified materials and attempts to overturn the 2020 election, a decision that could upend the 2024 presidential race.

Here’s what else is happening today:

• Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar is in Washington DC, where he’s having breakfast with Kamala Harris, visiting the Capitol and attending a reception with Joe Biden at the White House.

• Trump hosts the Republican Party of Palm Beach County Lincoln Day Dinner at Mar-a-Lago this afternoon.

• Abortion advocates are awaiting a ruling from a Texas judge in a case that could lead to abortion medication being banned nationwide. It could come today, or next week.