Biden defends Justice Department’s independence as prosecutors prep Trump charges

Federal prosecutors are preparing to seek criminal charges against Mr Biden’s predecessor

President Joe Biden on Thursday said Americans can trust that he has not interfered in the Justice Department’s independence despite claims to the contrary by former president Donald Trump, who is likely to be charged in a long-running probe over his alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Mr Biden made the comments at the tail end of a joint press conference alongside British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after being asked what he could say to convince Americans of the department’s independence and fairness amid a rash of attacks against it from Mr Trump.

The president, who has long pledged to stay out of decisions regarding criminal prosecutions by the department, replied: “I have never once, not one single time, suggested what the DOJ should or should not do relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge. I’m honest”.

Mr Biden’s comments came just a day after The Independent reported that prosecutors are ready to ask grand juries in Washington, DC and Florida to return indictments against Mr Trump stemming from the Justice Department’s probe into his alleged unlawful possession of classified documents and his alleged obstruction of that investigation.

The Independent previously reported that prosecutors working under the supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith are ready to ask grand jurors to approve an indictment against Mr Trump for violating a portion of the US criminal code known as Section 793, which prohibits “gathering, transmitting or losing” any “information respecting the national defence”.

A source familiar with the matter said Mr Trump’s legal team was recently informed that he is a “target” of the Justice Department probe, which began in early 2022 after National Archives and Records Administration officials discovered more than 100 documents bearing classification markings in a set of 15 boxes of Trump administration records retrieved from Mar-a-Lago, the century-old mansion turned private beach club where Mr Trump maintains his primary residence and post-presidential office.