- Trump's lawyer Evan Corcoran claimed Trump's transfer of classified documents that he was keeping in Mar-a-Lago was a "voluntary and open process."
- In a letter to the DOJ, Corcoran asked that the DOJ investigation into the "leader of the Republican Party" not "involve politics."
In a letter penned to the Department of Justice, former President Donald Trump's lawyer Evan Corcoran claimed the former president's transfer of classified documents that he was keeping in Mar-a-Lago was a "voluntary and open process."
The letter was included in the 38-page affidavit released Friday by the DOJ which provided reasoning for the FBI raid into Mar-a-Lago earlier in August.
In the letter, which Corcoran wrote on behalf of Trump, he asked that the DOJ investigation into the "leader of the Republican Party" not "involve politics."
He then said the boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were "unknowingly included among the boxes brought to Mar-a-Lago by the movers."
"It is important to emphasize that when a request was made for the documents by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), President Trump readily and voluntarily agreed to their transfer to NARA," Corcoran wrote.
He continued: "The communications regarding the transfer of boxes to NARA were friendly, open, and straightforward. President Trump voluntarily ordered that the boxes be provided to NARA. No legal objection was asserted about the transfer. No concerns were raised about the contents of the boxes. It was a voluntary and open process."
He said the "good faith" exercised by Trump was not matched by the DOJ or the FBI because of the many leaks that came from the investigation in the past months.
Corcoran then argued that the President has "absolute authority" to declassify documents, a tentpole argument of Trump's since the raid.
He added that a criminal investigation regarding classified documents is not applicable to a former or sitting President because the statute that discusses criminal action involving classified documents does not explicitly mention presidents.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.