Talks revolve around whether Trump will be able to shield conversations he had while president from federal investigators.
In recent weeks, investigators have moved aggressively into Trump’s orbit, subpoenaing senior former White House officials, focusing on efforts to overturn the 2020 election and raiding lawyers who wanted to help those efforts.
The Trump team’s discussions are with the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., which is in charge of the investigation, and its top prosecutor since Jan. 6, Thomas Windom, the sources said. The talks were not previously reported.
At this point, talks are mostly focused on whether any communications Trump’s West Wing witnesses had with the former president could be withheld from a federal criminal grand jury under Trump’s claims of executive privilege, the people said.
The Justice Department expected a legal battle with Trump over executive privilege. The issue arose as grand jury subpoenas were issued to two former employees of the White House counsel’s office and former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief counsel and chief of staff.
Trump’s legal team has warned him that charges are possible, sources told CNN.
Some members of Trump’s legal team have discussed his potential defense strategies at least twice in recent months, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as they prepare for new developments in the Justice Department investigation and a separate probe by officials Georgia for potentially criminal interference in the state’s 2020 election results. Rolling Stone previously reported that Trump had been briefed.
Trump has asked his lawyers whether they really believe he will face formal charges, sources said. Still, the former president has expressed a great deal of skepticism that he will be charged, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.
Another source close to the former president told CNN that Trump has also raised questions about a potential indictment to members of his inner circle, some of whom believe the president is concerned about the possibility of federal charges.
But one person close to Trump said he was noticeably more engaged when talking to friends and advisers about the 2022 midterms and his possible 2024 presidential campaign than he was during legal strategy briefings .
This person described the former president as reticent in talking about his legal troubles, often repeating his “witch hunt” mantra while claiming that the various investigations he faces are clearly being led by political opponents.
A Trump spokesman said in a statement to CNN, “There is clearly a concerted effort to undermine vital, constitutionally entrenched executive branch and attorney-client privilege through partisan, political persecution.”
“How can any future president ever have private conversations with his lawyers, advisers and other senior advisers if any such adviser is forced, during or after the presidency, before a delisting committee or other entity and forced to reveal those privileged , confidential discussions?” the spokesman said. “President Trump will not be deterred by witch hunts or kangaroo courts from continuing to defend and fight for America, our Constitution and the Truth.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Mark Meadows could be a key witness
In recent months, the former president has ignored advice from some of his advisers to avoid talking to former and current aides who are embroiled in a House special committee investigation on Jan. 6 and could become part of the criminal probe, people familiar with the matter said. with the question told CNN.
Trump was specifically advised to cut off contacts with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, whose actions leading up to and on the day of the riot at the US Capitol were scrutinized by the House panel, the people said.
Two of Meadows’ former top aides, Cassidy Hutchinson and Alyssa Farrah Griffin, have also been highly critical of Trump, with Hutchinson testifying to damaging details about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 during her public testimony before a House panel in June. Hutchinson is also cooperating with the DOJ investigation.
Some of Trump’s lawyers believe Meadows could also be in the crosshairs of investigators and worry he could become a fact-finding witness if forced to cooperate with the Justice Department probe, according to two people familiar with the matter.
In response, Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, told CNN on Thursday, “This is all empty and uninformed speculation, obviously from people who know little but talk a lot.”
Former White House counsel Ty Cobb said Meadows was “perfectly positioned to be the John Dean of this mess,” referring to the former Richard Nixon aide who gave crucial public testimony during the Watergate hearings.
“The reason [Meadows] is valuable and the reason he’s in danger: He was actually Trump’s right-hand man during all of these exercises and was involved in key meetings and phone calls,” Cobb said.
However, according to a source familiar with the relationship, Trump and Meadows have spoken several times. Another source close to Trump described their relationship as “not the same as it was” while in the White House, but insisted they are still in touch, even though Trump has complained about Meadows in recent conversations with other allies.
Meadows is known to attend fundraisers and events at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., where he also helped organize a fundraising retreat last April for the Conservative Partnership Institute, a group he runs with the former Republican Senator. Jim Demint.
Securing Trump’s endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd “was the last time Meadows was really in regular attendance. Since then, he’s never been much of a political operation or [Trump’s] thought process,” said a second person close to Trump.
CNN’s Pamela Brown and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
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