Donald Trump Faces New Charges Related to Illegally Possessing Classified Documents and Obstruction of Justice
In a surprising twist, former President Donald Trump is now facing additional charges in a case accusing him of illegally possessing classified documents. Prosecutors allege that he attempted to obstruct a federal investigation by asking a staffer to delete camera footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The new indictment includes counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, providing more details about previous charges against Trump and a close aide. While many have been anticipating a potential indictment in Washington over Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, these recent allegations reveal the extent of legal exposure the former president faces as he aims to reclaim the White House in 2024 while dealing with multiple criminal cases in various cities.
The updated charges focus on surveillance footage captured at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. FBI and Justice Department investigators visited the estate in June 2022 to collect classified documents that Trump had taken with him after leaving the White House. During their visit, law enforcement officials noticed surveillance cameras, prompting them to issue a subpoena for the footage. This footage has been crucial to the investigation as it allegedly shows Trump’s valet, Nauta, moving boxes of documents in and out of a storage room, including the day before the FBI and Justice Department officials’ visit. Both Nauta and Trump were indicted on multiple charges, including conspiracy to conceal the records and lying to the FBI.
The indictment claims that between June 2022 and August 2022, Trump, Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira, the Mar-a-Lago property manager, engaged in the corrupt alteration, destruction, mutilation, and concealment of documents at Mar-a-Lago with the intent to impair their use in any official proceeding. Additionally, all three individuals allegedly requested that an unidentified Trump employee delete security footage from the club to prevent it from being provided to a federal grand jury.
The indictment includes a quote from De Oliveira where he mentions the “boss” wanting the server hosting the footage to be deleted. De Oliveira reportedly took an employee to a small room called the “audio closet” in the IT office and inquired about the duration for which the server retained footage. Despite the employee expressing doubt regarding the ability to delete the footage, De Oliveira insisted that the “boss” wanted it done and asked for a proposed solution.
In a surprising move, De Oliveira was added to the indictment and charged with obstruction and false statements related to an FBI interview earlier this year. A lawyer for De Oliveira declined to comment on the charges. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Trump dismissed the new charges as a desperate attempt by the Biden administration to harass the former president and influence the 2024 presidential race.
The superseding indictment also includes an additional count against Trump for willfully retaining national defense information. This charge relates to a July 2021 interview at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, where Trump discussed U.S. military plans to attack another country. According to the indictment, Trump returned the document, marked as top secret and not approved for foreign nationals, to the federal government on January 17, 2022.
This shift in the prosecution’s approach to Trump’s case is notable, as it now charges him for retaining a highly sensitive document that he allegedly knew about after leaving office, rather than solely for failing to return it when requested by the government.
Both Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case continues to attract attention and will likely have implications for Trump’s political future.
Contributors: Eric Tucker, Zeke Miller, Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Kunzelman, Farnoush Amiri, Nomaan Merchant, Lisa Mascaro, Gary Fields, and Jill Colvin.
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