Trump suspected of classified papers ‘shell game’ in Mar-a-Lago probe as Greene targets Ukraine

Alex Woodward,John Bowden and Joe Sommerlad

Sat, 25 February 2023 at 2:52 pm GMT

The US Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the contents and movements of a box that turned up at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property late last year, a puzzle that has allegedly grown central to a probe under special counsel Jack Smith into the former president’s mishandling of classified documents.

Federal investigators reportedly suspect Mr Trump or his associates of playing a “shell game” with sensitive documents, according to CNN.

The former president has meanwhile lambasted Emily Kohrs, the foreperson of the special grand jury in Georgia that investigated his election subversion attempts, accusing her on his Truth Social account of going on a “media rampage” as part of “a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time” and dismissing her interview tour as “ridiculous”.

On the anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the former president claimed that ending the war requires a meeting with both leaders to “knock heads”, while his ally Marjorie Taylor Greene demanded a congressional “audit” of US spending to support Ukraine.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, said ending the war requires “saying things” to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky “that they’re not going to want to hear”.

Key Points

• Is Trump playing a ‘shell game’ with the Mar-a-Lago probe?
• Trump rages at Georgia grand jury foreperson over ‘Media rampage’
• Judge orders former president to testify in case brought by two ex-FBI agents
• DoJ moves to force ex-veep Mike Pence to testify
• Special counsel subpoenas Ivanka and Jared Kushner

Thursday 23 February 2023 09:04 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, plotting a return to the White House in 2024.