Prosecutor in Trump classified files case takes 5th Amendment in private interview with Congress

Source: Associated Press

Prosecutor in Trump classified files case takes 5th Amendment in private interview with Congress

By ERIC TUCKER
Updated 4:44 PM EDT, May 14, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key prosecutor on the classified documents case against President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a congressional interview Wednesday, declining to answer questions because of concern about the Trump administration’s willingness to “weaponize the machinery of government” against perceived adversaries, a spokesman said.

Jay Bratt had been subpoenaed to appear before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for a closed-door interview but did not answer substantive questions because of his Fifth Amendment constitutional right to remain silent.

Bratt spent more than three decades at the Justice Department before retiring in January, just weeks before President Donald Trump took office. He was a key national security prosecutor on special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which in 2023 charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and with obstructing the government’s efforts to recover them.

“He did not choose to investigate Mar-a-Lago; rather, the facts and evidence of a serious breach of law and national security led him there,” said Peter Carr, a spokesman for Justice Connection, a network of Justice Department alumni.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-classified-documents-trump-cf75eeaa615d91305adb4209387d4f0f