Democrats, Trump insiders and legal experts all agree: The investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents poses a far more dangerous threat to his freedom than the indictment in New York.
Investigators suspect that Trump personally examined some of the boxes containing classified material — apparently out of a desire to keep certain documents — after receiving a grand jury subpoena demanding they be returned.
Trump's valet testified that the former president then ordered him to move the boxes — an account corroborated by surveillance footage.'s prosecution, which focuses on a payment from 2016 and has triggered disputes over jurisdiction, the potential crimes Smith is investigating are recent and unambiguous.
Proving intent is a key challenge in prosecuting obstruction. But investigators have evidence — including texts and emails from Trump's former personal assistant — that Trump ignored requests from multiple advisers to return the documents for over a year. They also have evidence that Trump asked his lawyers to release false statements claiming he had returned the documents, and that multiple advisers warned Trump that holding on to them could be illegal.Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who has called the Manhattan DA's case "pathetically weak," sounded the alarm on Sunday over the legitimate danger Trump is facing in the classified documents probe.. "I don't think they went after those documents to get Trump.
"What's at issue in that case is not the taking of the documents. It's what he did after the government sought them and subpoenaed them, and whether there was any obstruction."