Federal prosecutors are seeking to compel testimony from a former top Donald Trump aide about public claims that the documents recovered by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago had been declassified, according to a report by The New York Times published online on Wednesday evening.
"No evidence has emerged that Mr. Trump did so, and Mr. Trump's lawyers have not repeated the claim in an ongoing court dispute with prosecutors over materials seized by the F.B.I. during a search of Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, in August," the newspaper reported. "But the Justice Department's interest in questioning Mr. Patel about the claim shows that prosecutors see it as potentially relevant to their investigation into the handling of the documents and whether Mr. Trump or his aides obstructed the government's efforts to reclaim them."
