Special counsel subpoenas dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff to testify in Trump classified documents investigation

• Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed dozens of Mar-a-Lago staffers, CNN reported.
• It marks an aggressive new phase in Smith's sprawling Trump classified docs investigation.
• One source told CNN that Smith is intentionally casting a wide net.

The special counsel overseeing the DOJ's inquiries into former President Donald Trump has subpoenaed dozens of Mar-a-Lago staffers as part of a criminal investigation into Trump's handling of national security information, CNN reported.

At least two dozen staffers at Trump's Florida golf club were subpoenaed, and one of Trump's communications aides appeared before a grand jury on Thursday, the report said.

The subpoenas mark an aggressive new phase in Special Counsel Jack Smith's sprawling investigation into whether Trump broke the law when he improperly moved hundreds of pages of government documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office.

CNN cited one source as saying that Smith's office is casting an intentionally wide net in its classified documents inquiry. Its purpose in subpoenaing Mar-a-Lago staffers — from servers to those in Trump's inner circle — is to gauge what anyone may have seen or heard while working at the former president's club in the months after he left office.

Smith's move to subpoena Mar-a-Lago employees comes as the Manhattan district attorney's office moves closer to indicting Trump, an unprecedented move that would put Trump in the position of running a 2024 presidential campaign while being a criminal defendant.

Insider reached out to Trump's defense attorney for comment on Thursday.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.