Former US President Donald Trump is facing new charges in a classified documents case related to Mar-a-Lago, his private resort.
The revised indictment accuses Trump of pressuring an employee to delete security camera footage from Mar-a-Lago. The charges include three new counts, one for wilful retention of defense information and two for obstruction. Additionally, Mar-a-Lago staff member Carlos de Oliveira has also been indicted in connection with the case.
The court documents reveal alleged efforts between Trump’s close aide, Walt Nauta, and Carlos de Oliveira to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation. They are accused of conspiring to delete surveillance footage from security cameras after the Department of Justice issued a subpoena seeking footage of the basement where confidential documents were supposedly kept.
According to the court documents, de Oliveira texted another employee, the director of information technology, instructing them to delete the server as per Trump’s request. When the employee expressed that he lacked the authority to do so, de Oliveira allegedly pressured him into complying. The indictment describes a scene where Nauta and de Oliveira navigated through bushes and foliage to reach the IT room.
The updated indictment also alleges that Trump knowingly discussed a top-secret document with biographers visiting Mar-a-Lago. The document supposedly contained plans for a potential attack on “Country A,” identified by outlets as Iran. Trump allegedly showed this document to one of his guests during the interview.
The charges are being led by special prosecutor Jack Smith, who also met with Trump’s lawyers for a separate investigation into alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump’s legal team received no indication of the timing for any indictment related to that case.
Trump dismissed the fresh charges in an emailed statement from his 2024 presidential campaign, claiming that they were part of an “illegal witch hunt” led by Jack Smith. These new charges add to Trump’s growing list of legal troubles, including facing trial for a hush-money case, civil charges in a defamation case, and the possibility of charges from Georgia prosecutors related to the alleged election result overturn effort.
