Trump attorneys worry some may snitch to feds as documents probe closes in, report claims

As the probe into whether former President Donald Trump or his advisers broke the law in their retention of documents including some potentially classified material from the White House nears its end, Mr Trump’s legal team is said to be fearing disloyalty.

The Daily Beast reported on Tuesday that the former president’s attorneys supposedly worry that some among them may decide to start talking to the Department of Justice, becoming witnesses in the case, as the attention of the agency turns to the actions of the legal team themselves.

The probe into Mr Trump’s handling of presidential records, including classified documents, exploded into the public eye last year when FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump’s home and resort in Florida.

Several current attorneys to Mr Trump who serve in varying capacities described a chaotic situation where much of the strategy is managed by Mr Trump’s in-house counsel, Boris Epshteyn, and clashing personalities have led to a toxic environment — all of which is occurring as the Justice Department’s special counsel, Jack Smith, is said to be closing in on a decision regarding potential criminal charges in the case.

Prosecutors appear to be turning up the heat on Mr Trump’s lawyers which is fueling existing tensions within his legal team.

Notes belonging to former federal prosecutor M Evan Corcoran, who is representing Mr Trump in the case, were handed over to prosecutors by a federal judge, citing the existence of a possible crime.

Further, when lawyer Alina Habba was questioned during the New York attorney general’s case regarding business fraud she declared she had looked everywhere at Mar-a-Lago for relevant papers, only for the classified documents to show up in the same place when the FBI searched the property.

Several attorneys on Trump’s team consider these two events as potential liabilities, The Daily Beast reports, given that prosecutors could pressure them to become witnesses against their client.

Internal tensions have already led to the departure of Timothy Partlatore, who specifically blamed Mr Epshteyn for making the defence of the former president “much harder than it needed to be”.

One source told The Daily Beast that there are “a lot of lawyers and a lot of jealousy”.

Much of the internal criticism reported by the outlet relates directly to Mr Epshteyn and what is seen as his meddling, particularly in relation to the classified documents case.

“Boris pissed off all the Florida lawyers. People are dropping like flies. Everybody hates him. He’s a toxic loser. He’s a complete psycho,” another source told The Daily Beast, who said the person “could barely contain their anger while discussing the matter”.

“He’s got daddy issues, and Trump is his daddy,” they said.

Several sources describe Mr Epshteyn as being protective of Mr Trump and demanding that all communication flows through him. Though another source told the outlet that while he tries to arrange and coordinate, everyone has the former president’s phone number and “he calls you directly when he feels like it”.

While Mr Parlatore has spoken out on CNN about Mr Epshteyn doing “everything he could to try to block us, to prevent us from doing what we could to defend the president”, other Trump lawyers have played down that narrative.

Ms Habba, also in an appearance on CNN, said: “You have type A personalities. We’re all lawyers, and not everybody’s always going to get along.”

Meanwhile, Trump 2024 spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Daily Beast: “Mr Parlatore is no longer a member of the legal team. His statements regarding current members of the legal team are unfounded and categorically false.”

In addition to the classified documents case, there are also impending cases in New York and Georgia, meaning that the sprawling legal team has to coordinate to avoid double-booking possible court appearances for the former president as well as coordinating with his current campaign for the White House.