Trump forcefully disputes ‘fake’ ABC News report he 'misled' his attorneys concerning classified documents

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Former President Donald Trump lashed out at ABC News on Tuesday over what he said was a "fake" report that he "deliberately misled" his attorneys about his handling of the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home last year.

"Shame on Fake News ABC for broadcasting ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations from a Never Trump, now former chief judge, against the Trump legal team. This disinformation is on par with their breathless Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, and ‘no-collusion’ Mueller speculation, all of which were totally disproven," Trump said in a statement shared on Twitter by spokesperson Liz Harrington.

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"These leaks are happening because there is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump. The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and weaponizing the justice system in order manipulate public opinion, because they are clearly losing the political battle," he said.

"The real story here, that Fake News ABC SHOULD be reporting on, is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever. President Trump is the only leader fighting for the Constitution in order to protect the American people from being abused by a crooked system," he added.

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at HoverTech International, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Allentown, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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ABC's Tuesday report said that sources told the outlet that a former federal judge wrote last week in a sealed filing that prosecutors presented "compelling preliminary evidence" that Trump "knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office." 

According to the report, former U.S. Judge Beryl Howell, who stepped down as the Washington, D.C. district court's chief judge on Friday, wrote that prosecutors investigating the classified documents found at Trump's home, made a "prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations," and that "attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers could therefore be pierced."

Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club is seen in the aerial view in Palm Beach, Fla., Aug. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

The report said that Howell found prosecutors sufficiently showed Trump "intentionally concealed" the existence of classified documents from his lawyer, Evan Corcoran, and put him "in an unwitting position to deceive the government." It also said that Howell agreed prosecutors sufficiently showed Trump committed crimes, but that they "would still need to meet a higher standard of evidence in order to seek charges against Trump, and more still to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

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The ongoing investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents began last year and is being headed by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Smith is also investigating Trump's alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.