Here’s the latest on the investigation into Donald Trump:
- A new indictment was filed today in connection with the ongoing prosecution by special counsel Jack Smith of Trump and a top aide, adding charges against the former president for his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. The new, or superseding, indictment also charges Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago who helped move boxes in of classified documents.
- Trump announced last week that he received a letter notifying him he is the target of a grand jury examining the Jan. 6 riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the other probe being led by Smith.
- Members of the grand jury in the Jan. 6 investigation were spotted at the courthouse today. A court official said later in the day that no indictments had been returned and that none were expected. Members of the grand jury were seen leaving the courthouse around 4:30 p.m.
- NBC News reported that Trump's lawyers met with Smith's office and were advised to expect an indictment, but Trump and a spokesman rebutted that report as being incorrect.
Biden makes no mention of new Trump charges in remarks
In his first public remarks after the new charges against Trump, Biden made no mention of his potential 2024 opponent but criticized a senator who was endorsed by the former president.
Speaking at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington, D.C., Biden took aim at Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and his blockade on military nominees over the Pentagon's abortion policy.
"The senior senator from Alabama who claims to support our troops is now blocking more than 300 military operations with his extreme political agenda," Biden said.
Biden has said very little about the charges against Trump, often responding to reporters' questions about the case by saying he does not tell the Justice Department what to do.
GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd weighs in
Republican presidential candidate Will Hurd tonight took a jab at Trump after new charges against the former president were revealed.
While noting he's not a lawyer, Hurd, a former House member from Texas, tweeted that “it seems like you know you’re committing a crime if you’re having an employee delete security camera footage.”
In a separate tweet, Hurd said that if Trump did try to destroy security video, as the indictment alleges, then he "thinks you're not smart enough to catch him in a lie" and that Trump will "always put himself first and America last."
Those who do not acknowledge the severity of the charges, Hurd added, are "complicit in endangering America and the men and women who serve our country."
Trump repeats 'election interference' claims after new charges
Trump repeated earlier claims that the classified documents case against him is “election interference at the highest level” after new charges were unveiled today.
“This is prosecutorial misconduct used at a level never seen before," he told Fox News Digital in an interview.
And in his first Truth Social post following the new charges, Trump shared an article titled "It's time to prosecute the prosecutors" from the conservative blog American Thinker. He did include any accompanying comments in the post.
Secret Service and D.C. police prepare for potential Trump indictment
Officials from the Secret Service and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department met today to discuss the potential for violence from protesters if Trump is indicted.
An official said both the Secret Service and Washington police believe Trump may be indicted soon in connection with his involvement in Jan. 6 and interference in the 2020 election, but neither law enforcement organization has been given an exact date.
The two law enforcement agencies are coordinating in case Trump needs to travel to Washington for an arraignment. As of now, no rhetoric online has alarmed law enforcement, but they continue to monitor for violence among those who would protest a possible indictment.
House GOP conference chair decries latest Trump charges, says justice system is 'broken'
House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik tweeted a statement tonight arguing that the new charges represent the latest evidence that Trump is the target of a "witch hunt" and that the justice system is "broken."
"It is no coincidence that the day after a federal judge throws out Hunter Biden's corrupt, sweetheart plea bargain, Biden's weaponized DOJ continues its witchhunt against President Trump," Stefanik wrote. Legal experts note that the cases against Trump and Hunter Biden are fundamentally different.
Prosecutors baffled by Trump's desire to discuss classified evidence outside of classified setting
On top of the new charges against the former president about his alleged mishandling of classified documents comes word from the special counsel that Trump wants to be able to discuss classified discovery outside of a classified setting. Clearly baffled, prosecutors from the special counsel’s team write in part in the latest court filing:
“There is no basis for the defendant’s request that he be given the extraordinary authority to discuss classified information at his residence, and it is particularly striking that he seeks permission to do so in the very location at which he is charged with willfully retaining the documents charged in this case.
“The government is not aware of any case in which a defendant has been permitted to discuss classified information in a private residence, and such exceptional treatment would not be consistent with the law.”
Special counsel won't ask that Trump and Nauta be arraigned again
An interesting footnote in the new indictment:
Subject to the Court’s approval, the Special Counsel’s Office will not oppose defendants Trump and Nauta waiving appearance at an arraignment on the superseding indictment pursuant to the conditions set forth in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 10(b).
A brief timeline of events presented by prosecutors in today's court filing
The superseding indictment the special counsel revealed today lays out new allegations against the former president.
Here is a brief timeline of events leading up to last year's search at Mar-a-Lago, according to the special counsel's court filing:
- June 22 — The Justice Department requests security video from Mar-a-Lago.
- June 23 — Trump speaks to De Oliveira on the phone for roughly 24 minutes.
- June 24 — One of Trump's attorneys speaks with the former president about the security video.
- June 25 — Nauta and De Oliveira meet at a security guard booth, where surveillance video is displayed on monitors. De Oliveira later steps into an audio closet with another employee and has a conversation that De Oliveira says should be kept between them.
- June 27 — De Oliveira tells an unnamed employee that the "boss" wants the Mar-a-Lago surveillance video deleted.
'He doesn't give you orders. He speaks in a code'
The new charging documents include an exchange between De Oliveira and an unnamed Trump employee. In the exchange, De Olivera says that "the boss," presumably Trump, wanted the server storing security video deleted. When the other employee pushed back against the request, De Olivera insisted that "the boss" wanted it "and asked, 'what are we going to do?'"
The testimony echoes that given by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen when he testified before Congress in 2019.
Asked about whether Trump explicitly asked him to lie about the purpose of money used to pay off adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Cohen said: "He doesn’t give you questions. He doesn’t give you orders. He speaks in a code, and I understand the code because I’ve been around him for a decade."
Attempt to delete video could damage Trump argument that he was entitled to the documents
The latest charges accusing Trump and his staff of trying to delete surveillance camera video provide prosecutors with a significant new tool to bolster their story to the jury.
According to the superseding indictment, after Trump was served with a grand jury subpoena to return the classified materials, Carlos De Oliveira allegedly told the director of IT at the club that “‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted.”
The former president’s defense has consistently taken some form of “I had the right to possess the documents (despite no longer being president).”
But if prosecutors can prove he and others engaged in a conspiracy to delete video to thwart federal efforts to locate the documents, that adds a new dimension to the story that was missing previously.
Prosecutors aren’t required to prove a defendant’s motive, but attempting to delete the video (assuming the Justice Department can show that) would strengthen the overall obstruction case, as well as provide evidence toward Trump’s consciousness of guilt over the alleged retention of the classified materials.