Trump group: Memo backs argument over emails

WASHINGTON — A group representing President Trump’s transition team is pressing the General Services Administration to turn over a memo purportedly sent by an agency official to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team that would offer proof that tens of thousands of emails should not have been delivered to investigators.

The transition group, Trump for America, claims in a letter sent Monday to GSA officials that an agency memo supposedly sent last June to Mueller’s team provides evidence that the emails later handed over to Mueller’s investigators were legally owned by the transition. The vast cache of emails should never have been delivered to the Russia election meddling investigators without Trump for America’s authorization, a lawyer for the transition group wrote in the letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The transition lawyer, Kory Langhofer, did not explain how the group was made aware that the GSA memo exists but said “it is our understanding” that the document was sent in June by the GSA’s top lawyer, Richard Beckler, to Mueller’s team. Beckler has since died. Langhofer’s letter to the GSA requested the memo under the Freedom of Information Act.

“The GSA had no right to access or control the records but was simply serving as Trump for America’s records custodian,” Langhofer wrote. He added that the GSA “unlawfully” handed over “thousands of private and privileged (presidential transition team) emails to the Special Counsel’s office, and failed to notify (Trump for America) of the production.”

GSA spokeswoman Pamela Dixon declined Wednesday to comment on the transition group’s letter. Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel, also declined to comment, citing an earlier statement that when the counsel’s office obtains emails during its investigations “we have secured either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal process.”

Ken Nahigian, Trump for America’s executive director, said the transition made the records request to the GSA to respond to the agency’s role in the “unlawful seizure of Transition documents by Mr. Mueller.”

Mueller so far has indicted two other Trump campaign officials and a fourth has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.