Former Donald Trump aide Taylor Budowich testified to a federal grand jury in Miami that has been hearing testimony in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
(Bloomberg) — Former Donald Trump aide Taylor Budowich testified to a federal grand jury in Miami that has been hearing testimony in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
Budowich, who served as a spokesman for the former president once he left the White House, is now running Make America Great Again Inc., the super-PAC supporting Trump’s 2024 bid for reelection.
“Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to ‘get’ Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front a federal grand jury and I answered every question honestly,” Budowich said in a tweet Wednesday.
Smith’s office in recent weeks has issued federal grand jury subpoenas out of southern Florida to multiple witnesses linked to the investigation into classified documents found at Trump’s Florida home, according to two people familiar with the investigative steps. One witness was expected to testify this week, the people said.
The special counsel’s office declined to comment.
The revelation of the grand jury proceedings in Florida marks a new twist in the Justice Department’s records investigation, which for more than a year has unfolded in secret grand jury proceedings in federal district court in Washington. Prosecutors have been exploring whether Trump or anyone else mishandled sensitive national security information or tried to obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve documents taken when he left the White House.
It’s unclear what the Miami activity means for the direction of Smith’s probe and whether they could pursue indictments against certain people in Florida and others in Washington.
The latest action comes as Smith’s office appeared to be wrapping up the records probe heading into the summer. A second investigation being run by Smith into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election is ongoing.
Read More: Trump Secret Documents Probe Is Wrapping With Charging Call Near
Budowich last year lodged an unsuccessful court fight over the now-disbanded Jan. 6 congressional committee’s review of his financial records. The committee’s attorneys explained in public court filings at the time that they were exploring advertising payments leading up to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. A judge rebuffed Budowich’s effort to force the committee to give up records they’d already gotten from his bank; he did sit for a deposition with the committee and produced other documents.
–With assistance from Mark Niquette, Zoe Tillman and Chris Strohm.
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