Former President Donald Trump stubbornly rejected his legal team’s efforts last year to settle the classified documents case — and prevent him from being indicted by a federal grand jury, according to a bombshell report.
Christopher Kise, one of Trump’s attorneys in the fall of 2022, wanted to quietly approach the Justice Department to negotiate a deal with Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Washington Post reported, citing seven insiders.
Kise told others he hoped his overture would “take the temperature down” by promising a professional approach and the return of all the materials from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
But Trump rebuffed Kise and listened instead to the advice of Tom Fitton, head of the conservative group Judicial Watch, who told him he should fight to keep the documents, according to the paper.
Kise never approached prosecutors to pursue his plan, three people briefed on the matter told the outlet.
A special prosecutor, Jack Smith, was appointed a few months later — leading to Trump’s federal indictment Tuesday on 37 felony counts over his alleged mishandling and concealment of national security information.
He pleaded not guilty in Miami and vowed to fight the charges.
Kise, a former solicitor general of Florida, declined to comment to the Washington Post.
“President Trump has consistently been in full compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which is the only law that applies to Presidents and their records,” Trump’s presidential campaign Steven Cheung told the paper in a statement.
“In the course of negotiations over the return of the documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, ‘anything you need from us, just let us know.’ Sadly, the weaponized DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted an unnecessary and unconstitutional raid on the President’s home in order to inflict maximum political damage on the leading presidential candidate,” he added.
People with knowledge of the case also told the paper on condition of anonymity that Trump repeatedly rejected opportunities to avoid criminal charges and even misled his own advisers — telling them the boxes at his hideaway only contained newspaper clippings and clothes.
Some of his senior advisers even flew to Mar-a-Lago to beg him to return the materials, but he stood firm, the insiders told the Washington Post.
Here's what to know about former President Donald Trump's federal indictment
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to mishandling classified White House documents that were recovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump unlawfully kept hundreds of documents after leaving office — including papers detailing America’s conventional and nuclear weapons programs, potential weak points in US defenses, and plans to respond to a foreign attack, federal prosecutors charged Friday.
The 45th president stored boxes containing the documents throughout his estate, including “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room,” according to a 49-page indictment filed in Miami federal court Thursday.
Follow The Post’s coverage of former President Trump’s federal indictment
- Trump indicted on 7 charges — including under Espionage Act — in Mar-a-Lago classified documents case
- Federal indictment against former President Trump unsealed
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- Donald Trump’s legal team gets shakeup as two top attorneys resign after indictment
- Trump indicted in documents probe: What it means and what’s next
- On trial: What was in the mind of Donald Trump?
- Melania Trump stone-faced arriving in New York ahead of husband’s indictment
- Trump rejected lawyers’ efforts to settle classified docs case: report
The indictment against Trump was unsealed hours after the 77-year-old announced he had been charged by Jack Smith, the special counsel tapped in November to examine Trump’s retention of official documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The indictment is the former commander-in-chief’s second since leaving office and marks the first time in US history a former president has faced federal charges.
In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg related to hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.
Fitton told the paper that he dined with Trump at his club that day before his first court appearance on the document charges.
“I saw him last night. He’s in a good mood. He’s serious and ready to fight under the law,” Fitton said.
He acknowledged he gave the advice to the former president but declined to discuss the details of their conversations.
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly told the Washington Post that Trump is “scared s–tless” over his legal predicament.
“For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable. Up until this point in his life, it’s like, ‘I’m not going to pay you; take me to court.’ He’s never been held accountable before,” the former Trump aide told the paper.
