Is Donald Trump going to represent himself in the Department of Justice lawsuit?
Rumours circulated online that the former President was going to defend himself in court but those reports were based on a faulty online filing system.
Of all the legal issues facing former President Donald Trump, the Justice Department investigation into classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home is thought to be the most pressing.
Earlier this month an FBI raid on Trump’s Florida estate found boxes of sensitive White House documents, with eleven sets of classified files taken by agents as part of the investigation.
Before leaving office presidents must submit all documents to the National Archive, a government agency tasked with handling and recording sensitive documents. Trump is being investigated for failing to hand over all the files.
In response to the raid Trump released a strongly worded statement in which he promised to fight the investigation and sue the Department of Justice for what he baselessly claims is a politically-motivated attack. Court filings from Trump’s team appeared to show his own name on the lawsuit, leading some to speculate that the former President was planning to represent himself in court.
However after closer inspection it seems that the misleading filing was the result of a system error from the court.
Confusion over lawsuit filing
Given Trump’s well-known self-confidence and certainty in his own ability, it struck some as likely that he would choose to represent himself in what he has come to see as a personal battle against the Department of Justice.
Lawyer and legal commentator Tristan Snell even posted a screenshot from the federal court’s online filing system which states that Donald J. Trump would be representing himself ‘pro se’.
However it seems that this was simply the result of an error on the electronic filing system which did not update properly, which has since been updated along with further case notes. New papers linked to the lawsuit state that Lindsey Halligan, James M. Trusty, and M. Evan Corcoran will e representing Trump.
A document submitted to the Southern District of Florida Court reads:
“Please take notice that the foregoing Motion For Judicial Oversight And Additional Relief is being filed conventionally because a technical issue with access to the Court’s CM /ECF system precluded electronic filing today, and the CM /ECF Help Desk advised undersigned counsel to file conventionally.”
But while Trump’s legal problems have not yet extended to having to represent himself, it is true that his team appear to be struggling to fight the former President’s myriad legal battles without the instruments of the White House.
A report in The New York Times describes Trump as being increasingly isolated, now serving as his own strategic advisor and director of communications. His own scattergun approach can secure quick PR victories amongst his supporters, but it is not suited to the intricacies of the American legal system.
Earlier this week he made public a letter that the National Archives had sent to Trump’s legal team, which Trump claimed was evidence that President Biden had been involved in the case against him. However the letter proved nothing of Biden’s involvement, and instead served to announce publically that Trump had kept more than 700 White House documents with classification markings.