Reports: Trump aide Kash Patel offered immunity in Mar-a-Lago documents probe
USA TODAY
11/3/2022
-
Historic Turkish castle damaged by 7.8 magnitude earthquake
NBC News -
With Debt Ceiling in Sight, Treasury Resorts to ‘Extraordinary Measures’
The Wall Street Journal -
Mass national security trial opens in Hong Kong
AFP -
Second Chinese Spy Balloon Confirmed Amid Sightings In Latin America
Newsweek -
Major Earthquake Hits Turkey and Syria, Hundreds Killed and Many More Trapped
The Wall Street Journal -
Hundreds killed by 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria
NBC News -
Hundreds Dead After 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hit Turkey And Syria
Newsweek -
MOMENT: Civilian pulled out of the rubble after Syria quake
Reuters -
Footage shows collapsed building in Aleppo, rescue operations continue
Reuters -
Turkish rescuer speaks to quake survivors stranded under rubble
Reuters -
Injured quake survivors rushed to hospital
Reuters -
MOMENT: Dramatic video shows building collapsing after Turkey quake
Reuters -
Dramatic video shows moment of building collapsing after Turkey quake
Reuters -
Daylight reveals devastating aftermath of major earthquake in Turkey
Reuters -
Syria's White Helmets rescue civilians following powerful earthquake in Aleppo
Reuters -
Downed suspected spy balloon raises tensions between U.S. and China
CNBC
-
Historic Turkish castle damaged by 7.8 magnitude earthquake A powerful earthquake that devastated parts of Turkey and Syria heavily damaged the historic hilltop castle in Gaziantep, Turkey, the city’s most famed landmark. Footage obtained by Turkish media shows damage to parts of the castle walls and watchtowers following the 7.8 magnitude quake. NBC News
-
With Debt Ceiling in Sight, Treasury Resorts to ‘Extraordinary Measures’ As the U.S. nears the debt ceiling, the Treasury Department has begun deploying so-called extraordinary measures. WSJ’s Jon Hilsenrath explains what those measures are and how they help the country avoid a debt disaster.
The Wall Street Journal
-
Mass national security trial opens in Hong Kong Hong Kong's largest national security trial opened Monday with 47 pro-democracy figures accused of trying to topple the government. The defendants, who include some of the city's most prominent activists, face up to life in prison if convicted of "conspiracy to commit subversion" for involvement in an unofficial primary election. The case is the largest to date under the national security law, which China imposed on Hong Kong after huge democracy protests in 2019. AFP
Former Trump administration aide Kash Patel has been offered a grant of immunity for his testimony before a federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump's handling of classified documents recovered earlier this year at the former president's Mar-a-Lago, Florida estate, according to media reports.
Patel, who had previously invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination when called to testify in the case, had claimed that Trump declassified the documents before they were moved to Florida at the end of his presidency.
More: Trump drops attorney-client claims over Mar-a-Lago documents
More: Justice Department questions Trump attorney Bobb over classified records at Mar-a-Lago
An FBI search of the Trump property on Aug. 8 resulted in the seizure of 11,000 government documents, including more than 100 records marked as classified.
The immunity agreement was first disclosed by the Wall Street Journal.
Patel could not be reached for comment.
A staunch Trump loyalist, Patel served as chief of staff to former acting Department of Defense Secretary Christopher Miller during the closing stage of the Trump administration. Trump designated Patel as a representative for dealing with National Archives records pertaining to his administration.
In a Breitbart interview posted May 5, Patel said; “Trump declassified whole sets of materials in anticipation of leaving government that he thought the American public should have the right to read themselves,” Breitbart reported.
“The White House counsel failed to generate the paperwork to change the classification markings, but that doesn’t mean the information wasn’t declassified. I was there with President Trump when he said, ‘We are declassifying this information.'”
Experts say constitutional powers authorizing a president to declassify documents don't apply to records classified as top-secret or higher - the classifications stamped on many of the documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
The heavily redacted FBI affidavit for the search warrant of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida cited Patel's comments to Breitbart.
© Greg Lovett, The Palm Beach Post-USA TODAY Network
Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
Although Trump and Patel have claimed that Trump declassified the records in question, current lawyers for the former president have not raised that argument during the current court battle.
Trump, however, has continued to stoke the argument that the records, some bearing the markings as some of the government's most sensitive, had been declassified even if he had not engaged in a formal review.
In a September interview with Fox News, Trump said he had the authority, as president, to declassify documents “even by thinking about it.”
“There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump said. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Reports: Trump aide Kash Patel offered immunity in Mar-a-Lago documents probe
More From USA TODAY
-
Storm forming in Texas could be severe; eastern US warms up after freeze: Weather updates
USA TODAY
-
Biden's State of the Union clouded by outrage over spy balloon; House GOP investigations ramp up: live updates
-
Super Bowl 2023 food ideas: Best favorite recipes for your party include wings, salsa, chili
USA TODAY
