Donald Trump’s charges seem to be endless, as the ex-US leader is again facing criminal charges for instructing staff to erase security camera footage at his residence in order to obstruct an investigation into the improper handling of classified documents.
U.S. federal prosecutors have announced three new charges, including obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, bringing the total number of counts against Trump to 40, reported international press.
According to court filings, prosecutors also accused Carlos De Oliveira–a 56-year-old maintenance worker at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club–with conspiracy to obstruct justice, lying to investigators, and destroying evidence. De Oliveira is the second Trump staffer to be charged with federal crimes alongside the former president.
Trump, his valet Walt Nauta, and De Oliveira have all been indicted for deleting CCTV footage from Mar-a-Lago in order to conceal evidence. The latest grand jury indictment contains additional allegations against Nauta and De Oliveira, as well as one linked to an incident at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey
Trump has previously bragged about top-secret papers describing a possible strike on Iran in 2021, according to US news outlets. An audio recording of the event shows Trump asking others around him, “Isn’t it amazing? I have a large stack of documents”, showing off about possessing “highly confidential papers.”
Trump acknowledged the sensitive nature of the documents. He claims to have declassified them illegally. Special Counsel Jack Smith, leading federal investigations, added a count of willfully retaining national defense information under the Espionage Act.
The Trump campaign has slammed the latest accusations as politically driven assaults by Joe Biden, alleging they are a desperate attempt by the “Biden Crime Family” and “their” Department of Justice to harass Trump and his supporters.
The former U.S. President pled not guilty to 37 felony counts, including keeping sensitive national security information knowingly in violation of the Espionage Act.
Nauta also pled not guilty to six counts of obstructing justice, making false statements, and withholding and concealing documents.
Donald. J. Trump is the first US president to face criminal accusations. Stay tuned…because there’s more to come, not the least of which are expected to be charges relating to inciting January 6 insurrection at the capitol building, and to election interference emanating from the nation’s last presidential contest in 2020.