Florida grand jury involved in Trump documents probe by Justice Dept.

Federal prosecutors are using a grand jury in Florida as part of their investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach property, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday night.

The grand jury is in addition to a separate panel that has been meeting in Washington for months to consider charges against Trump over the retention of hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and potential obstruction of the government’s efforts to reclaim the records.

It is not clear why prosecutors are using an additional grand jury, which was described to The Associated Press by a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss secret proceedings, or which witnesses might be testifying before it.

A variety of witnesses, including lawyers for Trump, close aides to the former president and officials with the Trump Organization, have appeared over the last year before the grand jury in Washington. But the use of a different grand jury in Florida suggests that prosecutors may also be eyeing at least some potential charges in that state.

The Mar-a-Lago investigation, being led by special counsel Jack Smith’s team of prosecutors, is thought to be in its final stages, with a charging decision expected soon. Trump’s lawyers met at the Justice Department on Monday with officials including Smith, part of an effort by the legal team to raise concerns about what they say is prosecutorial misconduct and to try to argue against a potential indictment.

The investigation has centered not only on the possession of classified documents, including at the top-secret level, but also on the refusal of Trump to return the records when asked and on possible obstruction. The FBI last year issued a subpoena for classified records at the property, and after coming to suspect that Trump and his representatives had not returned all the documents, returned with a search warrant and recovered an additional 100 documents with classification markings.

Investigators have questioned a Trump associate who was seen on surveillance camera moving boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago. As part of an obstruction probe centered in part on surveillance footage, they more recently have expressed interest in a worker’s draining of a pool at the resort last October, an act that caused a flood at the property, according to another person who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Attorneys for Donald Trump met with officials at the Justice Department on Monday morning, the week the grand jury investigating the former president's handling of classified documents is expected to meet again.

NBC News has confirmed that part of Trump's legal team met with special counsel Jack Smith and others at Justice Department headquarters in Washington on Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Three of Trump's lawyers — James Trusty, John Rowley and Lindsey Halligan — were at the Justice Department and met with the group of Justice Department officials, which included at least one other career prosecutor; the meeting did not include Attorney General Merrick Garland or Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Trump's team was first spotted by CBS News and then was seen emerging from the building just before noon.

In Florida, a grand jury is expected to hear witness testimony this week in the special counsel's classified documents case, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News after it was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

An FBI affidavit said the FBI found 184 classified documents in the boxes that Trump returned to the National Archives ahead of the August search, which turned up the additional classified documents.

Shortly after his lawyers left the Justice Department on Monday, Trump posted to his Truth Social platform. "HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING," he wrote. The Justice Department has not announced any charges.

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