Prosecutors: Trump asked to have Mar-a-Lago security footage deleted
Additional charges have been filed against former President Donald Trump in his classified documents case, including attempting to alter, destroy, mutilate or conceal evidence.
Trump brought classified documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, at the conclusion of his presidency. In June, he was charged with 37 federal counts, including illegal retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice. His valet, Walt Nauta, was charged with six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and concealing records. Both men pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors unsealed charges against a third defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, the head of maintenance at Mar-a-Lago. Surveillance footage captured in June 2022 showed De Oliveira moving boxes into a Mar-a-Lago storage room in the days between a grand jury issuing a subpoena for Trump to return all classified documents and federal prosecutors visiting the property, The New York Times reported. Prosecutors also found that later in the month, after a subpoena was issued to the Trump Organization for surveillance footage shot near the storage room, De Olivera called the Mar-a-Lago information technology worker who oversaw camera footage.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The updated indictment alleges that at the request of Trump, De Oliveira asked the IT employee to "delete security camera footage" at Mar-a-Lago in order to "prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury." De Oliveira received an additional charge of lying to the FBI, after telling agents during a January interview that he did not see the boxes being moved or help move them.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Margaret Atwood’s memoir, intergenerational trauma and the fight to make spousal rape a crime: Welcome to November booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite and 'Without Consent' by Sarah Weinman
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points A proposed one-time levy would shore up education and Medicaid
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
A free speech debate is raging over sign language at the White HouseTalking Points The administration has been accused of excluding deaf Americans from press briefings
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
