Former President Donald Trump and his employees are facing new allegations in the case over classified documents. Special counsel Jack Smith has expanded the case, accusing Trump and his employees of attempting to erase security footage at Mar-a-Lago that was sought by the grand jury investigating the mishandling of government records. The charges were filed in a superseding indictment handed over by a grand jury in Florida. Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago employee, has also been added as a defendant in the case.
The indictment claims that Trump requested the removal of the security footage after being subpoenaed. De Oliveira allegedly told another Trump employee that “the boss” wanted the server to be taken down. The conversation took place in June 2022, after prosecutors had requested the security footage. De Oliveira also spoke with Trump twice on the phone after Trump’s lawyers were notified of the subpoena plans. The new charges go beyond concealing documents and add a new dimension to the obstruction case.
Furthermore, Trump is facing a new charge related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents. Prosecutors have identified a new document, possibly containing Iran attack plans, that Trump illegally withheld. This brings the total number of charges for withholding national defense information to 32.
The superseding indictment contradicts Trump’s previous denials that the discussed document was a government document. Trump had described it as a news clipping in a July 2021 taped interview. The indictment presents new evidence that challenges Trump’s claims.
Carlos De Oliveira, the new defendant in the case, is accused of making false statements during an FBI interview in January. Prosecutors describe him as the Mar-a-Lago property manager and a former valet at the resort. After an FBI search warrant was executed at Mar-a-Lago, Nauta, another defendant in the case, spoke with an unidentified employee about De Oliveira’s loyalty and requested confirmation of it in a group chat with a representative of Trump’s political action committee.
De Oliveira is scheduled for an arraignment on the new charges in Miami federal court next week. It remains unclear how the new charges will impact the trial against Trump and Nauta, which is currently scheduled to begin in late May 2024. These developments may potentially push the trial date further back.
Trump has responded to the new charges, claiming that they amount to “election interference at the highest level” and “prosecutor misconduct.” He also alleged that his position in the polls for the 2024 presidential election made him a target of the Department of Justice. However, lawyers for De Oliveira and Nauta have declined to comment on the matter.
The legal peril facing Trump continues to grow, with potential indictments expected in the coming weeks in Fulton County, Georgia, where an investigation is underway into post-election conduct by Trump and his allies. The depth and breadth of the cases against Trump highlight the significant legal challenges he is currently facing.