Report: Trump rejected lawyers' efforts to settle documents case

Former US president Donald Trump rejected his legal team's efforts last year to settle the classified documents case with the Justice Department and prevent him from being indicted by a federal grand jury, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

In the fall of 2022, Christopher Kise, one of Trump's attorneys, wanted to approach the Justice Department to negotiate a deal with Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Post said, 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 Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

His plan was one of many occasions when lawyers and advisers sought to get Trump to take a more cooperative stance to avoid the Justice Department from indicting him last week on 37 criminal counts for allegedly keeping and hiding classified documents at his estate.

But Trump rejected opportunities to avoid criminal charges, according to people with knowledge of the case, the Post said.

Kise never approached prosecutors to pursue his plan, three people briefed on the matter told the Post. Kise, a former solicitor general of Florida who was paid $3 million upfront to join Trump's team last year, declined to comment.

On Tuesday, Trump was arraigned at a courthouse in Miami and pleaded not guilty. Kise sat next to him as one of his lawyers.

"It was a totally unforced error," one person close to Trump who has been part of dozens of discussions about the documents told the Post. "We didn't have to be here."

Trump had kept at least 64 boxes of documents, according to the indictment. Trump never believed that his Florida home would be searched and thought that he would be able to keep the documents, two advisers told the Post.

Instead of listening to Kise, Trump took 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. Fitton also told some of Trump's lawyers that Trump could keep the documents, even as they disagreed, the Post said.

Fitton acknowledged to the Post that he gave the advice to Trump but declined to discuss the details of their conversations. He said that he read the indictment and didn't believe it laid out illegal or obstructive conduct. He said Trump's lawyers "should have been more aggressive in fighting the subpoenas and fighting for Trump".

"I think what is lacking is the lawyers saying, 'I took this to be obstruction,'" Fitton told the Post. "Where is the conspiracy? I don't understand any of it. I think this is a trap. They had no business asking for the records and they've manufactured an obstruction charge out of that. There are core constitutional issues that the indictment avoids, and the obstruction charge seems weak to me.''

In an interview with the Post on Wednesday, Fitton said he dined with Trump the night before he was arraigned in Miami. "He's in a good mood. He's serious and ready to fight under the law."