Jay Bratt, a senior prosecutor involved in the criminal case accusing President Trump of unlawfully retaining classified documents, has retired from the U.S. Justice Department. A department spokesperson confirmed Bratt’s departure on Monday, just weeks before Trump is set to return to the presidency on January 20.
Bratt joined Smith’s team when the special counsel took over the classified documents probe and helped secure an indictment against Trump, alleging he knowingly retained classified documents and obstructed government efforts to recover them. Trump pleaded not guilty, maintaining the charges were part of broader attempts to undermine him politically.
Bratt’s tenure at the Justice Department spanned decades, most recently leading a section focused on counterintelligence and export control. His departure follows a misconduct complaint filed by Stanley Woodward, a lawyer defending Nauta. Woodward accused Bratt of improperly mentioning his pending judicial application during a 2022 meeting, a claim prosecutors denied, calling the mention a professional courtesy.
