Donald Trump Classified Documents Scandal: Ex-POTUS Gets New Charges
The Donald Trump classified documents scandal gets some new developments as the DOJ added a superseding indictment against the ex-POTUS, and a new co-defendant has been identified.
Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira was tagged as the new co-defendant because of his conversations with Yuscil Taveras, a Mar-a-Lago information technology worker.
Taveras was the employee who oversaw the surveillance camera footage at Mar-a-Lago, while De Oliveira had a conversation with Trump aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta regarding surveillance footage on the Trump property.
As for Trump, the superseding indictment added new major accusations against him. He reportedly ordered De Oliveira to have the security footage at Mar-a-Lago deleted after he ordered Walt Nauta to hide the classified documents that he took from the White House after he was sent a subpoena. He is also charged with illegally holding onto a classified document he allegedly showed off to visitors in his Bedminster, New Jersey resort.
According to CNN, Special Counsel Jack Smith's grand jury in Washington has heard testimony about De Oliveira's unusual behavior regarding the footage. Smith's team has also previously heard testimony about odd conversations between Taveras, Nauta, and De Oliveira.
De Oliveira reportedly had a conversation with Taveras on June 27, 2022, before Trump's Mar-a-Lago property was raided by the FBI. He reportedly asked to have a private discussion in an "audio closet" with the Mar-a-Lago IT specialist and asked him if the security tapes could be deleted and also asked how long the footage lasts.
However, Taveras admitted, "he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that." However, the property manager told him that "the boss" wanted it deleted.
READ MORE: Donald Trump Fake Electors in Michigan Charged
Donald Trump Spokesperson Reacts to New Charges
After the new charges were revealed, a Trump spokesperson dismissed the new allegations, saying that these were "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt" by the Biden administration "to harass President Trump and those around him" and to influence the 2024 presidential race.
Donald Trump is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination and is the likeliest candidate to challenge President Joe Biden in 2024.
According to the Associated Press, De Oliveira lied to federal investigators in the case, telling the FBI last January that he "never saw nothing" regarding the boxes of classified documents at the Trump property, thereby getting his name added to the indictment.
The New Charge Vs. Donald Trump Regarding Classified Documents in New Jersey Resort
Donald Trump's new charge was an additional count of willfully retaining national defense information against the ex-president.
The Associated Press noted that this new charge is related to that time when Trump showed off a document regarding Iran to the writer and publisher of Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadow's memoir. While the incident was mentioned in the original indictment, he was not really charged with it.
Trump returned that document to the government on Jan. 17, 2022, which was almost a year after he left office.
READ MORE: Donald Trump Fact-Checked to His Face by Brett Baier During Fox News Interview
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: 'It reads like a spy novel,' says reporter on new Trump charges | ABCNL - ABC News
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!