- There is no legal impediment, but it is a practice that could encourage witnesses not to cooperate.
 |
| File image of Trump landing at Mar-a-Lago. |
Trump would have paid money to key witnesses in the case of the confidential documents
Former United States President Donald Trump's Political Action Committee (PAC) reportedly paid money to some witnesses involved in the Justice Department's investigation into whether the former president illegally withheld confidential state documents after leaving office. Presidency reported 'The Washington Post'.
According to what some of the witnesses have reported anonymously to the aforementioned newspaper, including people who have participated in both the defense and the prosecution of the case open against Trump, the PAC would have paid the fees to the participants in the investigation.
Specifically, the former president's political action committee would have paid 114,000 euros to the Brand Woodward Law firm, which represents a witness who came out in defense of Trump and another who was critical of him.
"It seems that the Trump PAC is paying for the silence of these witnesses, for them to take the Fifth or for favorable testimony"
Although there is no legal impediment in the United States for third parties to pay legal fees to the lawyers of participants in a trial, it is a practice that could discourage witnesses from cooperating.
"There is no impediment for third parties to pay legal fees, as long as the client is informed. The lawyer's ethical obligation is with the client," said Stan Brand, the main lawyer at the Brand Woodward Law firm, which benefited from the Trump payments.
"There is no impediment for third parties to pay legal fees, as long as the client is informed"
Meanwhile, former Attorney General Jim Walden, consulted by The Washington Post, has affirmed that the payment agreement raises concerns about whether the reimbursement of legal fees could influence what witnesses say or do.
In this sense, he has indicated that if Justice Department officials have concerns about the ethics of the participants in the case, they could ask a judge to, at a minimum, ask clients if they are sure that their interests are being protected.
Raid on Mar-a-Lago
"It appears that the Trump PAC is paying for the silence of these witnesses, for them to take the Fifth or for favorable testimony," Walden added.
The US Department of Justice is investigating Trump's possession of hundreds of classified documents at his Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago after he left office.
Some of the documents recovered in June by the FBI in a search approved by the country's courts contained highly classified information, including reports on a foreign country's nuclear capabilities, intelligence activity in China, and the missile system from Iran.
Tags:
World