Sweeping plan to ‘depopulate’ LA County jails embraced by supervisors

• April 3, 2023

A sweeping proposal calling for depopulation and decarceration of the Los Angeles County jails will be considered Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, drawing the ire of an organization representing police chiefs for 45 law enforcement agencies.

The plan advanced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath would declare a “humanitarian crisis” in the jails and advocate for or instruct several county agencies to evaluate, create and expand programs that would keep more people out of a jail, even after they are convicted of misdemeanors and some felonies.

“To depopulate and decarcerate is a monumental task, and the Board is committed to redress historical wrongs, deeply rooted in systemic racism and prejudice, and reverse status quo responses to poverty, mental health and medical needs, and substance use dependencies,” the supervisors wrote in their motion.

The Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association says it was blindsided by the proposal, only learning about it on Friday, and believes it is conspicuously timed to occur during the same week as two major local law enforcement events — the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay and the Tri-County Police Chiefs Conference.

“In the midst of surging crime rates, pre-arrest decriminalization policies, and a complete shift away from sound public safety responses, it appears the County BOS is poised to exacerbate our current plight,” says a letter from the group to the supervisors, obtained by the Southern California News Group. “We do not stand against reform and we have been active participants in these efforts. However, we are concerned with the rushed motion under conspicuous circumstances, that does not allow for stakeholder participation.”

Solis and Horvath could not be reached for comment Sunday.

‘Care first, jails last’

The latest series of recommendations advances the board’s “care first, jails last” agenda, by asking for changes from the county courts and the state, granting new authority to the sheriff to release more of the incarcerated population, and removing systemic barriers in the county departments that intersect with the justice system.

The Board of Supervisors adopted a “Care First and Community Investment Budget Policy” in 2021 that allocated $200 million from the voter-approved Measure J to community youth programs, job training, rental assistance and developing alternatives to incarceration through “community-based services and non-custodial pretrial, diversion, re-entry and restorative justice programs.”

That same year, it created the “Jail Closure Implementation Team” with the mandate to “safely close and demolish” the Men’s Central Jail without building a replacement.

“For these reasons and to respond to the County’s mass incarceration crisis in a more humane way, the Board must move forward with celerity to utilize its complete authority to advocate for support and reforms from our State and Judicial partners to ensure this County is a truly ‘jails last’ County,” the motion states.

The Police Chiefs Association said it opposes the outright closure of the Men’s Central Jail and the formation of any group to facilitate such an effort without input from police chiefs and representatives of Los Angeles County’s independent cities.

“We are simply asking for more detailed vetting and building of replacement alternatives, and for a seat at the table,” the letter states, requesting that the agenda item be tabled.

Most of the recommendations are aimed at keeping people out of jail to begin with, through reduced bails, pretrial diversion programs and cite-and-release ticketing. Others are designed to help convicted inmates exit the system sooner, through expedited processing and alternative sentencing, in which some or all of a sentence would be spent under house arrest instead.

What the plan would do

Specifically, the motion would:

Ask the Los Angeles County Superior Court to extend court hours and reimplement a zero bail policy for most offenses, excluding serious and violent felonies, or those that pose a risk to others, such as driving under the influence or stalking.
Direct the sheriff and director of the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department to work with Los Angeles County’s 45 municipal law enforcement partners to increase the use of “cite-and-release” countywide.
Instruct the Public Defender’s Office to develop a plan to expand expungement clinics and help more people resolve “failure to appear” warrants.
Request that the sheriff develop rules allowing individuals held on bail in county jails for either felonies or misdemeanors to be released back into their communities when safe to do so.
Explore opportunities to subsidize transportation to and from court for individuals released pretrial
Ask the Sheriff’s Department and district attorney to increase the use of “split sentencing,” a program that divides a sentence between jail and house arrest, as an alternative to incarceration.
Develop a pilot to arraign as many individuals as possible via video conferencing to reduce the number of people transferred from local jails to county jails.
Direct the county’s chief probation officer to make it more difficult to send someone back to jail for a Post Release Community Supervision violation and to develop alternatives “that do not result in individuals being incarcerated.”

Efforts similar to the current proposal from Solis and Horvath, including Proposition 47 and  Assembly Bill 109 also known as the California Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, have resulted in predictable, tragic outcomes from an influx of offenders released into communities, according to the LACPCA

“The consequences have been a steady rise in crime, reduced quality of life, and increased fear within our communities,” says the letter. “Closing Men’s Central Jail will have a very similar effect on communities if the county does what the state did by releasing large numbers of inmates arbitrarily and without community protections in place. Predictable is preventable.”

Proposition 47 was approved by California voters in 2014 to reduce the penalties for certain lower-level drug and property offenses to prioritize prison and jail space for higher-level offenders.

Assembly Bill 109 allows for current nonviolent, nonserious and nonsex offenders to be supervised at the county level after they are released from California state prisons.

The LACPCA said the proposal before the supervisors leaves many questions unanswered, including where inmates will go if Men’s Central is closed and who will supervise their release.

“More importantly, who will ensure the community is protected when these inmates are simply pushed back into communities where resources are stretched and police efforts muted by a host of forced factors?” asks the letter from the chiefs to the supervisors.

Los Angeles County jails currently house more than 1,464 individuals who have been sentenced to state prison. Part of the motion includes sending a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to expedite transfers and release of inmates held on behalf of the state and allow the Sheriff’s Department to release those individuals directly from local custody when applicable.

The supervisors also would support legislative proposals that call for an end to non-safety-related towing of vehicles; a statewide zero bail schedule, similar to the Superior Court system used during the pandemic; and permanent funding for pretrial diversion services.

If the motion is approved, county officials will be tasked with developing tools to track and model jail populations and to help better assess individuals who could qualify for early release.

Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department is expected to provide timelines on the implementation of the motion within 60 days and quarterly progress reports to the board.

‘Dangerous and reckless’

Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, which represents about 900 LA County prosecutors, calls the proposal from Solis and Horvath “dangerous and reckless,” and claims it guts portions of the legal system without input from valuable stakeholders.

“The authors sought no advice from those who know and understand public safety issues,” he said in an email Sunday. “They seek to lower the jail population without addressing the root causes of crime or protecting the public.”

Siddall noted the proposal directs law enforcement to cite and release suspects for offenses such as illegally carrying a gun, domestic violence, possession of child pornography and some violent crimes, including residential burglary, robbery, and assault with a firearm.

“This catch-and-release program comes without any plan or infrastructure to protect the community from violent criminals apprehended by law enforcement,” he said. “Further, it creates no lockdown facilities for the mentally ill. This program benefits no one, except career criminals. We need to make sure the most dangerous offenders don’t get out, that first-time offenders don’t come back, and that those with serious mental illnesses get appropriate care and help. This does none of that.”

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The proposal seems to be the major last step in fulfilling the progressive decarceration ambitions of the supervisors and progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, said Steve Cooley, a former district attorney for the county.

“The biggest danger to public safety and quality of life in Los Angeles County happens to be some members of the Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County District Attorney,” Cooley said in an email. “This sort of thinking pervades at the state level. Los Angeles County has done an awful job with diversion programs in general, dealing with the mentally ill, and the plethora of drug addicts who litter the streets.

“Those on the board trying to slip this through without any real notice to or comment from the public should be called out.”

​ Orange County Register 

Katie Johnson’s header lifts Angel City FC to victory on final play

• April 3, 2023

Katie Johnson’s goal on the final play of the match gave Angel City a 2-1 victory against the Orlando Pride in the lone National Women’s Soccer League match on Sunday.

Claire Emslie converted on a penalty for Angel City (1-1-0) in the first half at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium after Alyssa Thompson, selected first in the 2023 NWSL draft, was taken down on a breakaway in the box. Emslie sent Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse diving in the other direction and slotted her penalty to the right corner.

Rookie Messiah Bright scored her first NWSL goal in the 51st minute for Orlando (0-2-0), dribbling between two Angel City defenders before sliding it to the left corner to tie the game.

Emslie got a second chance from the penalty spot in the 89th minute when a handball was called in the box, but Moorhouse came up with a big save. Angel City nearly won another penalty, but it was called off due to an offside violation in the build-up.

On the final play of the match, substitute Johnson headed in Emslie’s corner kick, giving Angel City the win. It was the latest game-winning goal in a regular-season NWSL match.

#ad A game winner
Katie Johnson’s goal after an amazing corner kick from Claire Emslie.
Play of the Match from #ORLvLA#AngelCityFC | @JohnnieWalkerUS pic.twitter.com/G2WjDlynsH

— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) April 3, 2023

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​ Orange County Register 

Lakers crush the Rockets, led by Anthony Davis’ 40-point game

• April 3, 2023

HOUSTON (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 40 points, LeBron James had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to tie Jason Kidd for fourth place with his 107th triple-double and the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 134-109 on Sunday night.

The Lakers (40-38) moved two games over .500 and into a tie for seventh with the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference with four games to go. Los Angeles has won six of its last seven games and owns the tiebreaker over the Pelicans.

Davis scored 27 in the first half en route to his first 40-point performance since scoring 55 against the Washington Wizards on Dec. 4 and his third of the season. James played just 29 minutes.

Lakers starter D’Angelo Russell, acquired in a three-team trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 9, did not return to play in the second half due to left foot soreness. Russell had six points, four assists and three rebounds in 15 minutes.

In his 13 games with the Lakers, Russell had been averaging 18 points, 6.5 assists and three rebounds.

Alperen Sengun notched his third straight double-double for the Rockets with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jalen Green scored 24 points and Kevin Porter Jr. chipped in 20 points. Prior to this stretch, Sengun had one double-double over the previous nine games played.

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The Lakers owned a 70-60 halftime lead, which the Rockets cut to six with 9:38 to go in the third quarter on a reverse layup by Green.

With 30.3 seconds left in the third quarter, James got a roar from the Lakers fans with an emphatic one-handed tomahawk dunk to bring the Lakers’ lead back to 16. That was a part of a 20-7 run by Los Angeles to extend the lead to 117-90 with 7:56 to go.

TIP-INS

Lakers: Rui Hachimura scored 20 points and had a season-high 12 rebounds … Austin Reaves scored 16 points … Malik Beasley scored 13 points off the bench.

Rockets: All five starters scored in double digits. … Rockets coach Stephen SIlas received a technical foul with 8:30 left in the game … Houston Texans new coach DeMeco Ryans was introduced prior to the game and did the Rockets “First Shot”.

UP NEXT

Lakers: Visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

​ Orange County Register 

4 injured after vehicle veers onto OC sidewalk

• April 3, 2023

Four people were seriously injured after a vehicle drove onto the curb and collided into them in the Las Flores neighborhood of South Orange County on Sunday, April 2, authorities said.

Around 4:15 p.m., four people were walking on the sidewalk near the intersection of the Antonio Parkway and Oaktree when a vehicle veered off the road and struck them on the sidewalk, according to Orange County Fire Authority spokesperson Capt. Thanh Nguyen. Las Flores is near Rancho Santa Margarita.

The four victims were seriously injured and taken to a hospital, Nguyen said.

It was not immediately clear whether the driver of the vehicle was detained, or whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

The crash was being investigated by California Highway Patrol officers.

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​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: Why Lamont Butler’s shining moment for San Diego State resonates

• April 3, 2023

A couple of weeks ago – days ago? – if someone mentioned a San Diego State hooper from Moreno Valley via a Riverside high school, you would’ve thought of Kawhi Leonard, the one-time Martin Luther King High School standout and two-time NBA champion who stars for the Clippers.

Now you’re thinking of Lamont Butler.

Aztec hero Lamont Butler.

NCAA tournament legend Lamont Butler.

The former Riverside Poly star hit the buzzer-beater Saturday, his pull-up with 0.7 seconds left sending the Aztecs to their first NCAA championship game in program history – and sending the city of San Diego, from the Gaslamp Quarter to Viejas Arena, and wherever people were watching, into a frenzy. Much of the Inland Empire, too.

His mom, Carmicha, said when the crowd at Houston’s NRG Stadium erupted around her after her son’s game-winner in No. 5 San Diego State’s 72-71 victory over No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the Final Four, she didn’t join them. She couldn’t. “I was speechless. I sat down and literally bawled.”

Lamont Sr. said he found himself marveling at the payoff as he watched it happen: “The work really works.”

And after making the shot, the younger Butler stood in place on the court, upright, unmoving, arms at his side. Defiant? Cool? Stunned, he said: “A little shocked,” he told reporters in Houston.

As of Sunday morning, Carmicha said she hadn’t even been able to wade through all the messages on her phone. There have been so, so many – so many of them coming from the family’s supporters close to home in Moreno Valley: “They’re excited for him and they’re pulling for him; it’s an amazing experience for them to watch as well.”

Hall of Famer Reggie Miller – whose career scoring record Butler broke at Riverside Poly with his 1,836 points – retweeted video of Butler’s shot, part of the tidal wave of well wishes and I-remember-whens on social media spurred by the moment.

And what a shining moment!

What madness! The fifth buzzer-beater in Final Four history, and the first for a team that was trailing. A miracle rehearsed a million times – first by the boy counting down seconds in the driveway, and then by that young man who spent all last summer in San Diego trying to perfect that pull-up jumper.

The best Poly Bear since @ReggieMillerTNT https://t.co/G5Rbu54WDb

— Cory Ritzau (@CoryRitzau) April 2, 2023

The moment was made possible by Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher, who recruited a team of “unentitled grinders,” as San Diego Union-Tribune beat writer Mark Zeigler characterized them. Without any five-star recruits, but with the presence of mind to thank chefs and hug hotel service staff, to prioritize defense and sacrifice stats for the good of the team.

The scene Saturday set by Dutcher’s decision not to foul and not to call a timeout even trailing by one point and with just seven seconds left in the Final Four.

Risky calls? Sure. But trusting Butler to drive downhill, into the Owls’ defense? Handing the keys to the 6-foot-2 junior point guard who’d pulled up and drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the win at New Mexico just recently, on Feb. 25?

A pretty sound bet. Put the ball in Butler’s hands and Dutcher said he’ll be quite willing to “live with whatever happens” next.

“In that moment, to take that shot, you gotta be built different,” Lamont Butler Sr. said by phone Sunday, when he estimated he’d come “down to Cloud 8.”

“Everybody don’t have the guts to take a shot like that. They don’t want to live with the letdown and if we miss the game-winning shot and we lost. Lamont’s so even-keeled, if he makes the shot or not, he knows it’s the right shot to take.”

Words can’t express how proud I am of this guy. Love you son, you are a champ!!! pic.twitter.com/XLlK6igREV

— Lamont Butler Sr. (@Lamontbutler5) March 27, 2023

However intrinsic that quality is, it’s also been cultivated by those close to him.

He comes from a tight-knit family; 24 relatives were among the 73,860 fans in the arena to see Butler get it done.

“His pedigree is part of what makes it really special,” said Tim Cook, the head basketball coach at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, whose son Austin played AAU ball with Lamont. “He’s a really special young man. He treats people the right way, he plays with a smile, he plays the right way and he’s just so easy to root for.”

And he’s gotten clutch support with his basketball family at San Diego State, all those who stood strong beside him after Butler’s sister Asasha Lache Hall was murdered last March.

She was 10 years older than Lamont, so he’d always been in the stands watching closely when she played at Ontario’s Colony High School with her sisters, winning a couple section titles. And she’d always been in the stands, in her usual seat near the court, to see him play as an Aztec.

“The coaches, as well as the players on this team, they have really embraced Lamont, especially during one of the most difficult times in his life,” Carmicha said. “They really rallied around him and supported him in every aspect. Whatever he needed, they were here for him: ‘If you don’t want to play, do you need to talk, whatever it is you need. We’re here for you.’”

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“That was huge, amazing for him and us as well. This is our other family.”

The Butlers, with their extended basketball family, will buckle up for whatever encore Lamont might have in store in Monday’s title game against the No. 4 Connecticut Huskies, four-time national champions.

One of those came in 2011, when they beat Leonard’s San Diego State squad along the way, 74-67, in the Sweet 16.

Now another Aztec by way of the Inland Empire has a shot. And if that shot is a midrange jumper, you’ve got to feel pretty good about it.

Lamont Butler said he emphasized taking mid-range shots like that this past offseason.

He’d work on making 10-15 in a row just to get his “consistency up”. #MFinalFour | #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/vyFM4uBQoP

— Julian Del Gaudio (@JulianDelGaudio) April 2, 2023

“Dad where we’re u when Lamont butler hit that shot” IN VIEJAS WITH THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO!!! AZTECS TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/7CY4LgkGtE

— Alama Uluave (@alama_uluave) April 2, 2023

LAMONT BUTLER BUZZER BEATER MAKES THE GASLAMP EXPLODE! AZTECS TO THE NATTY! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/R1cHtbSgRA

— Chase Izidoro (@chaseizi) April 2, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

UCLA softball shuts out Stanford, takes over Pac-12 lead

• April 3, 2023

LOS ANGELES — No. 3 UCLA softball beat No. 6 Stanford, 3-0, for its 13th shutout win of the season on Sunday afternoon at Easton Stadium. With the win, the Bruins move to the top of the Pac-12 standings.

Freshman pitcher Taylor Tinsley threw four innings, giving up three hits and recording three strikeouts. Megan Grant and Aaliyah Jordan each had a home run.

UCLA (32-4) completed a series sweep of Stanford (28-6) with the win after previously beating the Cardinal 4-0 on Friday, then 2-1 on Saturday to clinch the series.

UCLA is first in the conference standings with four more series against Pac-12 opponents remaining until the Pac-12 tournament in early May.

Leadoff hitter Megan Grant got the Bruins’ hitting going in the first inning with a home run over the right field wall, marking the freshman’s seventh homer of the season.

UCLA didn’t record another base hit until Aaliyah Jordan’s single in the bottom of the second inning and didn’t score again until the third inning. Grant tripled to get on base, then fellow freshman Jordan Woolery singled off the first pitch she faced to drive her in and put the Bruins up 2-0.

Senior pitcher Lauren Shaw entered the game in the top of the fifth inning and went 1-2-3 in the frame as the Bruins kept Stanford off the bases for the remainder of the game. Shaw threw for two innings with one strikeout and Brooke Yanez came in for the final inning, finishing the game allowing one hit and striking out one.

Jordan put up one more run for UCLA on a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

UCLA next plays at UC San Diego on Tuesday before returning to Pac-12 play against Oregon State on Thursday at Easton Stadium.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ bats go quiet in loss to Arizona Diamondbacks

• April 3, 2023

LOS ANGELES ― Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith give the Dodgers a formidable trio at the top of their lineup.

The other six left something to prove Sunday.

Betts, Freeman and Smith combined to go 4 for 10 in the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The rest of the lineup went 0 for 21, and could not add to Smith’s solo home run in the first inning against Zach Davies.

“I think we hit a lot of hard balls,” Smith said. “They caught a bunch of breaks where we could put three runs up, four runs up. … That’s baseball. You’ve got to hit it where they’re not. Sometimes it doesn’t always happen.”

Bolstering Smith’s point: the four hardest hits the Dodgers put in play Sunday resulted in outs, including a 106-mph grounder by pinch hitter Jason Heyward to end it. Trayce Thompson, who hit three home runs Saturday, fell about six feet shy of hitting another in the second inning Sunday.

After Noah Syndergaard matched Davies’ dominance inning-for-inning, the Dodgers let the game slip away with Brusdar Graterol on the mound in the ninth inning. The right-hander allowed four hits and was fortunate to allow only one run.

Ketel Marte led off with a perfectly placed double down the third-base line. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. poked a single into right field. Betts ― who had started the game at second base ― preserved the 1-1 tie by throwing Marte out at home plate, and the out call by home plate umpire Ryan Blakney was upheld on review.

Christian Walker followed with a single of his own. The next batter, Corbin Carroll, hit a grounder to shortstop Miguel Rojas. Rather than flip the ball to Miguel Vargas covering second base, Rojas attempted to kickstart a double play by himself. But his throw to first base was off-line, putting Carroll at first base and Walker at third with two outs.

Jake McCarthy seemed to surprise Graterol with a drag bunt between the mound and first base. Graterol tried but failed to scoop the ball up with his glove, and Walker scored from third base on the bunt single, giving Arizona a 2-1 lead.

“Those guys like to do that stuff,” Smith said. “I take Bazooka (Graterol) as a pitcher fielding his position over anybody. I think he makes that (play) 99 out of 100 times.”

Syndergaard received a standing ovation following his debut before an announced crowd of 46,549 at Dodger Stadium. He allowed only four hits and one run over six innings. He exited after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh inning on his 78th pitch of the game.

The veteran right-hander, who signed a one-year contract worth $13 million plus incentives with the Dodgers in December, did not walk a batter and struck out six.

“I’m a big believer in first impressions ― new home, new fan base ― so I just wanted to execute, attack hitters,” Syndergaard said. “And just leave a really good first impression. Now that I got the first one over, I can relax a bit.”

Syndergaard did allow a pair of stolen bases, a focal point for him this spring. Known for having one of the slowest delivery times to home plate in baseball, Syndergaard focused his efforts on being quicker to the plate. Major League Baseball introduced new rules designed to make it easier to steal bases, including limits on how often a pitcher can throw to an occupied base.

Both of the Diamondbacks’ steals came from Carroll in the fifth inning. Smith didn’t attempt to throw Carroll out on either play. But taking second and third also might have been moot. The next batter, Geraldo Perdomo, hit a double down the right-field line that likely would have scored the fleet-footed Carroll from first base.

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“That team is built on speed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s sort of what they do. Against Noah, they’re going to try to execute that. I did think we did a decent job. I don’t mind conceding that stolen base at third base with two outs.”

The Dodgers’ four starting pitchers in the series ― Julio Urías, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw and Syndergaard ― were masterful. They walked one batter and struck out 25 in 25 innings, while allowing 15 hits and four runs.

In their two losses, the depth of the Dodgers’ lineup looked questionable. Three-fourths of their bench (Austin Barnes, Heyward and Chris Taylor) are still looking for their first hit and walk of the season.

“I still think we’re going to score runs. I still like our lineup,” Roberts said. “There’s a few guys that just haven’t gotten on track yet.”

​ Orange County Register 

Feds have new evidence of potential obstruction in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents case, newspaper reports

• April 2, 2023

The Justice Department has obtained new evidence suggesting potential obstruction by former President Donald Trump in the agency’s probe of his handling of classified documents, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Investigators have information that indicates Trump personally reviewed some of the documents in his Mar-a-Lago home after receiving a subpoena from the Justice Department, people familiar with the investigation told the Post, out of an apparent wish to hold on to some things.

While the former president’s team returned some classified documents following the May 2022 subpoena, the FBI’s August search turned up more that hadn’t been returned.

Related: Trump lawyer ordered to turn over papers from Mar-a-Lago case

Additional evidence obtained by investigators suggests that Trump told others to mislead government officials trying to recover documents from his time in the White House before the subpoena last year, which the Post noted could be evidence of his intent.

CNN has confirmed that investigators have emails and text messages from Molly Michael, an assistant to the former president who left her job last year. Those texts and notes, which investigators have had for several months, detail what Trump was doing and who he was meeting with, which could be significant for understanding his whereabouts in relation to the documents.

As CNN reported last month, at least two dozen people — from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Trump’s inner circle at the Florida estate — have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury that’s investigating his handling of classified documents.

The staffers are of interest to investigators because of what they may have seen or heard while carrying out their daily duties around the estate, including whether they saw boxes or documents in Trump’s office suite or elsewhere.

Related: Donald Trump’s legal worries extend far beyond charges in New York

The Justice Department has been investigating potential mishandling of national security records and possible obstruction for about a year. FBI agents recovered more than 100 classified documents during a search of Mar-a-Lago last summer. Since then, Trump’s legal team has turned over additional classified material.

Officials involved in the investigation have also asked witnesses if Trump showed specific interest in documents or material related to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the Post reported, but it’s unclear why.

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​ Orange County Register