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- The Justice Department filed new charges to the Trump classified documents case on Thursday.
- Trump was previously hit with 37 criminal counts related to the handling of classified records.
- The DOJ added another defendant and two new obstruction counts, filing shows.
Donald Trump obstructed federal investigations by attempting to get Mar-a-Lago security footage deleted, the Department of Justice alleged in an updated indictment related to special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents.
The superseding indictment claims that newly added defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker, and Waltine Nauta, a former member of the US Navy who was stationed at the White House during Trump's presidency and later became his so-called "body man," were directly involved in attempting to delete surveillance footage at the Mar-a-Lago resort.
The new charges allege that after the DOJ emailed Trump's business attorney on June 24, 2022, requesting "all surveillance records, videos, images, photographs, and/or CCTV from internal cameras" at specific Mar-a-Lago locations including around the basement where classified documents were alleged to have been stored, Trump met with Nauta.
Nauta then rescheduled his plans to travel with Trump to Illinois and instead made his way to Florida, but provided "inconsistent explanations" for his sudden change of plans, according to the documents.
In one case, Nauta texted one person that he wouldn't be going to Illinois "because he had a family emergency and used 'shushing' emojis," the documents allege.
While Nauta made his travel plans to Florida, according to the superseding indictment, he began texting the Director of Information Technology at Mar-a-Lago to see if he was around over the weekend. De Oliveira also texted the employee, saying: "Hey buddy how are you… Walter call me early said it was trying to get in touch with you I guess he's coming down tomorrow I guess needs you for something."
The employee responded that he had family plans but told Nauta he could "get away for a few" if needed, according to the documents.
Prior to Nauta's trip, De Oliveira told a valet employee at Mar-a-Lago not to tell anyone Nauta was coming to the resort and to keep his trip a secret, the new court documents allege.
After Nauta arrived on the evening of June 25, he and De Oliveira then made a trip to the Mar-a-Lago security guard booth, and the following Monday, they allegedly talked with the Director of IT about the surveillance systems and video footage, per the court documents.
This is all part of the Justice Department's additional three charges and new defendant to the classified documents case in a superseding indictment that was returned by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida on Thursday.
Two of those charges include obstruction of justice stemming from the DOJ's allegations that the former president asked De Oliveira to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
De Oliveira was added as a new defendant in the case and faces several charges: conspiracy to obstruct justice; altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object; corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a document, record, or other object; and false statements and representations.
In all, the superseding indictment gives Trump an additional count of willful retention of national defense information, and charges all three defendants with two new obstruction counts, Peter Carr, a DOJ spokesperson, said in an announcement.
De Oliveira's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump's campaign called the new charges "a continued desperate and flailing attempt" by the Biden administration and the DOJ to harass Trump.