Justice Department and Trump Lawyers Clash Over Status of Seized Documents
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and President Trump’s personal lawyer are engaged in a standoff over the scope of the Justice Department’s review of a whistleblower complaint. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and President Trump’s personal lawyer are engaged in a standoff over the scope of the Justice Department’s review of a whistleblower complaint. Photo: Michael Bociurkiw / The New York Times Photo: Michael Bociurkiw / The New York Times Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Justice Department and Trump Lawyers Clash Over Status of Seized Documents 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, said in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that a Justice Department letter dated Aug. 26 informing Trump he would not be indicted over his demand for the release of tax returns “does not constitute a valid waiver of the DOJ’s jurisdiction.”
Trump’s attorney also told Grassley he would not agree to turn over all of the documents the department said it wants. “We respectfully request that you continue to pursue the matter and do so in a manner that is as transparent as possible to the American people,” Dowd wrote.
The dispute is unfolding in the shadow of a separate political fight over the Trump administration’s legal fight against the House Ways and Means Committee. The administration fought Democrats in the House to not release any of the documents, which include tax returns and other financial documents that could show Trump may not have paid taxes for years.
With Trump’s legal team saying it is “not willing to compromise” on the issue, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump to ask him whether he would turn over the documents.
Read the letter below:
Mr. Chairman,
I write to respond to your July 16 letter regarding the Department’s August 26 letter to the White House regarding its decision not to recommend that a grand jury issue a sealed indictment in Mr. Trump’s ongoing tax dispute with the House Ways and Means Committee and the IRS.
You ask whether the Department “has
