Former President Donald Trump is facing three new felony charges in the special counsel’s investigation into his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. Two of the charges accuse him of ordering the deletion of a computer server holding incriminating security camera footage. The charges, including additional counts of willful retention of documents and obstruction of justice, were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago, was also charged in the case. Both Trump and his aide Walt Nauta have pleaded not guilty. The new charges revolve around surveillance video from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where the sensitive documents were kept. The three men allegedly attempted to delete security camera footage to prevent it from being provided to a federal grand jury. The footage was subpoenaed by the Justice Department after FBI agents discovered surveillance cameras near a storage room in the resort while recovering the documents. Trump’s attorneys informed him about the subpoena, and he called his valet Nauta, who subsequently traveled to Florida and met with De Oliveira. They later went to a security booth where the video footage was displayed. In addition to the new charges related to the security camera footage, a new charge has been filed regarding previously reported audio of Trump discussing a sensitive military document during an interview. The total number of felony counts against Trump in this case now stands at 40. The special counsel’s office is also nearing charging decisions in the investigation into the events surrounding the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has stated that he was informed by the Justice Department that he is a target of that inquiry. His attorneys met with Smith’s team in relation to the January 6 investigation, with Trump asserting that he did nothing wrong.
