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

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.

“This administration and its proxies have made no effort to hide their willingness to weaponize the machinery of government against those they perceive as political enemies,” Carr added. “That should alarm every American who believes in the rule of law. In light of these undeniable and deeply troubling circumstances, Mr. Bratt had no choice but to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.”

The statement describes Bratt as someone who spent his career in public service “protecting our nation from some of the gravest national security threats—including spies, murderers, and other criminal actors—always without fear or favor.”

A federal judge in Florida dismissed the prosecution last year after concluding that Smith had been illegally appointed to the special counsel role. The Justice Department's appeal of that decision was pending at the time of Trump's presidential win in November, at which point Smith's team abandoned that case and a separate prosecution charging Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Since taking office, Trump has engaged in a far-reaching retribution campaign against officials he regards as adversaries.

His administration has issued executive orders aimed at punishing major law firms, including some with current or past associations with prosecutors who previously investigated him. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has fired lawyers who served on Smith's team and also established a “weaponization working group” aimed at reviewing actions taken during the Biden administration. That group is led by Ed Martin, whose nomination to be the top federal prosecutor in Washington was pulled by the White House last week.

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