WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s White House task force is publishing records from investigations into him. Its leader, journalist John Solomon, says it operates separately from prosecutors pursuing a related conspiracy investigation in Florida.
Trump initially promoted the panel as an effort to uncover election fraud. However, it has produced no evidence of that, The Washington Post reported.
Solomon described its purpose as serving the “court of public opinion”. He maintained that the panel neither communicates nor works with the Florida prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Trump allies and administration officials view the disclosures as support for allegations against former investigators. The Justice Department’s Florida inquiry has issued subpoenas but has not produced any indictments.
Its prosecutors are examining whether officials took part in a continuing conspiracy to violate Trump’s rights. That allegation remains unproven.
The White House Government Transparency Task Force has released material from former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation.
Other disclosures concern former special counsel Jack Smith’s inquiry into classified documents. Among them are records on Susie Wiles, a former senior Trump aide and now White House chief of staff.
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Court orders allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track telephone numbers associated with her 2023 calls. The technique, known as a pen register, did not capture conversations.
Although administration officials have portrayed the disclosures as evidence of misconduct, former federal judge Paul Cassell described pen registers as routine investigative tools.
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Cassell, now a University of Utah law professor, questioned the claim that their use violated constitutional rights. On Friday, the panel also published State Department emails and memos concerning officials who testified during Trump’s first impeachment.
Solomon put the task force’s output at 113 documents comprising 832 pages, released in 14 batches. Trump’s task force is publishing records from investigations into him, while Solomon says it operates separately from prosecutors examining former officials.
