Taylor Budowich, who had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency and now runs a pro-Trump super PAC, was to testify before a grand jury that is separate from a 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 beyond the one in Washington or what testimony Budowich was expected to offer, though the existence of the Florida panel could be an indication that prosecutors are considering bringing charges there. 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.