DOJ calls Raskin’s claims about Trump classified docs case ‘political stunt’
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A new clash erupted Wednesday over records in Trump’s classified documents affair, after Rep. Jamie Raskin accused the Justice Department of improperly transmitting sensitive documents to Congress, drawing sharp rebukes from the White House and DOJ.
“Democrats without credibility like Jamie Raskin are still clinging to deranged Jack Smith and his lies in 2026,” White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital when asked about Raskin’s claims.
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter March 24 to Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging that the DOJ may have inadvertently sent her panel previously undisclosed documents showing that Trump retained sensitive classified materials related to his business interests and may have exposed them to others after his first administration.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the classified documents affair for years, including when FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago in 2022 for documents he allegedly kept after leaving the Oval Office, and when then-special counsel Jack Smith filed an indictment against him in 2023, accusing him of deliberately withholding national defense information and obstructing efforts aimed at recovering them.
JACK SMITH FACES PUBLIC GRIDING ON CAPITOL HILL OVER TRUMP PROSECUTION
Representative Jamie Raskin answers a question from a reporter as he introduces a bill at the U.S. Capitol on May 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Raskin accused the DOJ of violating a court order requiring that parts of the classified documents case remain under seal, including Smith’s final report, which Democrats have long demanded that the DOJ turn over to Congress.
Raskin’s letter quickly drew backlash from the White House, which called it “pathetic” and pointed out that Smith was forced to drop his case against Trump when he won the 2024 election.
Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the case, threw it out in July 2024 after finding that Smith’s appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland was unconstitutional. Smith was appealing his decision but withdrew his appeal after Trump’s victory, citing a DOJ policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents.
“President Trump did nothing wrong, which is why he easily defeated Biden’s unprecedented DOJ legal campaign against him and then won nearly 80 million votes in a landslide election victory,” Jackson continued in his statement.
A DOJ spokesperson said Raskin was “blinded by hatred” of Trump and that the DOJ had been “the most transparent in history.” The spokesperson said Raskin’s accusations were “baseless” and also refuted Raskin’s claims that the DOJ violated a court order by releasing the documents to Raskin’s committee.
“Judge Cannon’s protective order was not violated, and none of the documents produced by the DOJ violated the 6th [grand jury rules] because none of them disclosed facts that occurred before a grand jury,” the spokesperson said. “The documents marked ‘6th’ contained redactions of any 6th material. As a lawyer and law professor, one must assume that Raskin understands this and thus reveals that this letter is nothing more than a cheap political stunt, almost as if he was taking inspiration from the members of Jack Smith’s corrupt prosecution team. »
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said in a statement that Raskin’s letter was another example of “manufactured outrage from the left.”
“Once again, Democrats are more focused on President Trump than on working with Republicans to put America First,” a committee spokesperson said.
JACK SMITH denies politics played any role in Trump prosecution in House hearing
Aileen Cannon, the Florida judge handling former President Donald Trump’s case, in an interview. (Reuters)
In his letter, Raskin alleged that documents his committee received from the DOJ showed that some classified documents in Trump’s possession were so sensitive that only six government officials had access to them and that Trump may have kept documents related to his business dealings to enrich himself. The Maryland Democrat also cited a memorandum indicating that Trump “may have shown” a classified map to individuals while they were on a private plane.
Raskin also accused the DOJ of cherry-picking information about the case to report to Congress while continuing to withhold other information, including the second volume of Smith’s special counsel’s final report. Cannon had ordered that portion of Smith’s report remain permanently sealed, although his order is under appeal.
DEMOCRATS CALL FOR PUBLICATION OF JACK SMITH’S ATTORNEY’S SPECIAL REPORT ON TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE
This image, contained in an indictment against Donald Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (Justice Department via AP)
The sealed report became a priority for Democrats because no final report produced by DOJ special counsels was withheld from the public until Smith’s. Democrats claimed the report could shed new light on the matter, while Republicans argued the investigation was politically motivated, that the report was too biased against Trump and that any disclosure at this point must be consistent with Cannon’s order.
A Democratic committee spokesperson accused the DOJ of performing “legal gymnastics” to prevent the release of the Smith report, accusing the department of wanting to “advance its corrupt business interests.”
In August 2022, the FBI conducted a controversial search in which it seized 33 boxes from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, among which were agents searching Melania Trump’s wardrobe, Trump previously said. Prosecutors defended the search in court, saying Trump withheld some boxes as they sought his voluntary consent, leading them to use a search warrant.
The president has denied any wrongdoing throughout the investigation and prosecution, calling it a “scam” pushed by the Biden administration.
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Raskin, in his letter, asked the DOJ to turn over a list of documents related to the case and answer questions about who might have seen the classified documents.
