Trump Faces New Charges in Classified Documents Probe

• Trump charged with obstructing justice in Mar-a-Lago documents case.
• Total charges against Trump now 40.
• Trump campaign dismisses charges as “witch hunt”.

New criminal charges have been filed against Donald Trump, alleging that he pressured an employee to delete security footage at his Florida residence, further complicating the case involving the mishandling of classified files.

The new indictment includes one count of wilful retention of defense information and two counts of obstruction, bringing the total charges to 40 in this matter.

Donald Trump denies any wrongdoing and has referred to the prosecutor as “deranged.” Despite facing multiple legal cases, he insists on continuing his 2024 presidential campaign, even if he were to be criminally convicted.

Previously, Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges in the case, along with his aide, Walt Nauta, who has now received two additional charges of obstruction. Additionally, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, Carlos de Oliveira, has also been indicted.

The updated indictment alleges that Mr. Nauta and Mr. de Oliveira conspired to obstruct the Department of Justice’s investigation by attempting to delete surveillance video following a subpoena demanding footage from the area where confidential documents were stored.

According to the court document, Mr. de Oliveira conveyed Mr. Trump’s desire to have the server deleted to the Mar-a-Lago’s director of information technology, who hesitated to comply, citing a lack of authority. The employee involved in the incident is identified as Yuscil Taveras.

Furthermore, the indictment details a meeting between Mr. de Oliveira and Mr. Nauta on an adjacent property, and later, Mr. Trump offered legal counsel to Mr. de Oliveira at the request of Mr. Nauta.

Another notable point from the updated indictment is that Mr. Trump knowingly discussed a top-secret document with biographers who were visiting Mar-a-Lago for an interview.

Mr. de Oliveira’s lawyer has declined to comment on the allegations.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith is leading the case involving the mishandling of documents, and he is also overseeing a separate investigation into alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

On a previous occasion, Donald Trump’s attorneys, John Lauro, and Todd Blanche, held a meeting with officials at Mr. Smith’s office in Washington DC.

As of Thursday, the former president stated that his legal team had not been given any indication of the timing for potential charges in the case.

In response to the new charges, Trump’s presidential campaign dismissed them as a “way to salvage their illegal witch hunt” in an emailed statement.

Several Congressional Republicans have come to Trump’s defense, accusing the Department of Justice of being “weaponized.” Missouri Senator Josh Hawley suggested that the timing of the charges was a deliberate distraction from the collapse of a plea deal involving President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, over tax and gun-related offenses.

It’s worth noting that President Joe Biden is facing his special counsel investigation regarding the handling of classified documents, some of which were found in a garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.