- Trump and his allies are trying to brush off the legal and political peril from the DOJ's probe, Politico reports.
- "They see this as just another headache to deal with," a person close to Trump told Politico.
- But more Republicans are urging Trump to hold off on launching a 2024 bid until after the midterms.
Donald Trump and his allies are trying to shake off the legal and political peril from the ongoing federal investigation into the former president, all while keeping an eye on 2024, Politico reports.
"I don't think anyone truly believes he's in legal jeopardy," a person close to Trumpworld told Politico about the ongoing criminal investigation into Trump's handling of government materials, including classified documents.
"They see this as just another headache to deal with and it's an unnecessary issue when they could be focused on other things like preparing for a potential run," the person said.
People close to Trump, however, recently told Insider that they believe he's a target of all the investigations currently ensnaring him and is likely to be indicted. And in court, Trump's lawyers have sought the appointment of a "special master" to review the materials seized in the FBI's August 8 search of Trump's club and winter residence, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida.
A person present at a House Republican Study Committee dinner with Trump the day after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, told Politico that the search "was a major discussion at the beginning of the dinner but he definitely wasn't obsessed."
"He was upbeat, not downbeat. He wasn't deterred by it, he expressed more disdain for what they did to his family more than what they did to him, searching Melania's closet and going after his kids," the attendee of the August 9 dinner told Politico.
Still, on Thursday morning, Trump sent off a firestorm of angry messages on his social media platform, Truth Social, slamming "the Radical Left Democrat prosecutors" investigating the case, declaring himself "as innocent as a person can be," and in one post, simply saying: "PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT!"
Trump may be brushing off the political fallout from the investigation and gearing up for 2024, but more Republicans are urging him to hold off on announcing a presidential campaign until after the 2022 midterms. They fear that all the attention on Trump could hurt the GOP's chances of winning back both chambers of Congress in November.
"One big takeaway is that he is fully aware that if he gets in before midterms he'll get blamed for losing the Senate —he made that case [to us] and understands it," the Republican Study Committee member told Politico.