According to the allegations contained in the new charges, former President Donald Trump is accused of exerting pressure on an employee to destroy security camera footage from Mar-a-Lago.
A fresh version of the indictment names three new counts against Donald Trump, including one for the willful retention of defence material and two for obstruction of justice.
An additional individual, a member of the Mar-a-Lago staff named Carlos de Oliveira, has been indicted in connection with the investigation. It is said that Mr. de Oliveira inquired about the processes that may be used to remove footage.
Mr. Trump has entered a not-guilty plea, and his close adviser Walt Nauta has done the same. On Thursday, Mr. Nauta was also charged with two more counts of obstruction.
The property manager at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. de Oliviera, and Mr. Nauta are allegedly conspiring to obstruct the justice department’s investigation, according to recently filed court documents.
Donald Trump faces further charges in Mar-a-Lago documents inquiry
After the Department of Justice issued a subpoena asking for surveillance footage of the basement where it thought secret documents were housed, Mr. Nauta and Mr. de Oliveira allegedly colluded to remove film from security cameras in response to the demand, as stated in the newly filed court documents.
According to the materials filed with the court, Mr. de Oliveira is said to have communicated via text message with another employee who held the position of director of information technology that “the boss” wanted the server erased.
According to the documents, Mr. de Oliveira later met with the employee in a small room dedicated to information technology (IT), told the employee that their chat should remain private, and then forced the man into complying with his request when the employee told Mr. de Oliveira that he did not have the authorization to make the request.
In the indictment, a scene is described in which it is said that Mr. Nauta and Mr. de Oliveira strolled through bushes and foliage at the border of Mar-a-Lago, a leisure resort that had been known as the Winter White House, in order to get to the information technology room.
According to the allegations, Mr. de Oliveira asked his colleague, “What are we going to do?” An attorney for Mr. de Oliveira has chosen not to comment on the matter.
The most recent version of the indictment makes the allegation that Mr. Trump intentionally disclosed classified information to biographers who came to Mar-a-Lago to interview him.
According to the indictment, the paper that Mr. Trump sent to the biographers may have contained potential plans to attack “Country A,” which CNN and other publications have identified as Iran.
“Wow, have a look at this… Isn’t that simply incredible? I am currently knee-deep in paperwork, and this matter has just come to my attention.” Take a look at this,” Mr. Trump is reported to have told one of his visitors.
Jack Smith, who earlier in the day met with Mr. Trump’s attorneys to discuss a separate probe into possible efforts to alter the results of the 2020 election, is leading the inquiry into the documents as the special prosecutor in charge of the matter.
US media have stated that attorneys for Mr. Trump, John Lauro and Todd Blanche, met with officials in Mr. Smith’s office in Washington, District of Columbia.
The former president stated earlier this month that he anticipated being indicted in connection with that issue, but on Thursday he stated that his lawyers had not gotten any indication of when the indictment may be handed out.
In a message that was sent out through email from his presidential campaign in 2024, Mr. Trump disregarded the newly filed allegations in the case.
According to what was written in the statement, “Deranged Jack Smith is aware that they have no case and is searching for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt.”
The most recent allegation levelled against Donald Trump is just the latest in a long line of legal issues for the real estate and reality TV billionaire.
In the meantime, he is awaiting trial for a hush-money case in which he is charged with 34 felonies. He is also facing civil charges in a defamation lawsuit brought by novelist E. Jean Carroll, and prosecutors in Georgia are also considering whether or not to pursue charges against him for an alleged attempt to reverse the election results in that state.