Feds Concerned Trump ‘Took Documents on Flights’ to His Other Properties, WSJ Reports

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The Wall Street Journal on Friday evening published an exclusive report revealing new details about the federal investigation into potential “obstruction” by former President Donald Trump in regard to his attempts to retain documents wrongfully taken from the White House.

Federal investigators are now focused on two Trump aides, Walt Nauta and Will Russell, who the Justice Department believe are witnesses to documents being moved at Trump’s direction, according to the report. The WSJ notes that Russell had not previously been reported on as a potential witness in this investigation, although he had been subpoenaed by the DOJ in connection with the probe into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The WSJ adds that neither aide is officially cooperating with the investigation, but both are believed to be key witnesses with first-hand knowledge.

The report by Sadie Gurman and Alex Leary notes:

Federal officials also have expressed concern about whether Mr. Trump took documents on flights as he traveled from Mar-a-Lago to his other properties in New York and New Jersey.

The revelation raises the specter of more searches of Trump-owned properties by federal authorities. The FBI seized 11,000 documents, including many marked classified or top secret, from Trump’s Florida estate on August 8th.

On Wednesday, Washington Post detailed revelations from a Trump employee, believed to be Nauta, who told federal agents that boxes of documents were moved at Mar-a-Lago “at the specific direction” of Trump.

The Post’s Devlin Barrett and Josh Dawsey reported that “according to people familiar with the investigation, who say the witness account — combined with security-camera footage — offers key evidence of Donald Trump’s behavior as investigators sought the return of classified material.”

CNN added that Trump ordered the documents moved only after Trump’s “legal team received a subpoena” asking for the return of classified information.