WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump rejected the idea of arranging a settlement with the Justice Department to avoid an indictment in a looming classified documents investigation, according to a published report.
The Washington Post reported that Christopher Kise, one of Trump’s attorneys in the fall of 2022, wanted to quietly approach the Justice Department to negotiate a deal that would preclude charges.
Kise’s reasoning was that Attorney General Merrick Garland might consider an “exit ramp” to avoid prosecuting a former president. Kise allegedly wanted to “take the temperature down” by promising a professional approach and the return of all documents.
Trump, however, was not interested after hearing the advice of other attorneys, who urged fighting any prosecution, according to the newspaper, which cited three people “briefed on the matter.”
Instead, on Friday, Trump became the first former president to be charged at the federal level, as the Justice Department unsealed a 37-count indictment.
Kise, a former solicitor general of Florida who was paid $3 million to join Trump’s legal team last year, declined to comment, according to the Post.
Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty in Miami on Tuesday and vowed to fight the charges.
“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 campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement, according to the Post. “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.”
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