Former US President Donald Trump was charged with attempting to impede an investigation into the mishandling of top-secret materials by plotting to erase surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday.
The fresh indictment targeting the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, who is slated to go on trial as the contest heats up in May of next year, was unsealed by federal prosecutors.
The additional accusations were announced on the same day that Trump’s lawyers met with Justice Department officials in preparation for a separate expected indictment regarding his alleged efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
The twice-impeached former president was indicted in the classified papers case for the first time last month, accused of compromising national security by retaining top secret nuclear and defense material after leaving the White House.
According to the accusation, Trump left the data, which included records from the Pentagon, CIA, and National Security Agency, unprotected at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and obstructed official efforts to obtain them.
In the superseding indictment, the billionaire is accused of deleting security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago with his co-defendant in the case, personal staffer Waltine “Walt” Nauta, and a new defendant, property manager Carlos de Oliveira.
The new accusations are in addition to the previous allegations of “willful retention of national defense information” and conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, and other offenses to which Trump pleaded not guilty last month.
According to the latest indictment, de Oliveira and a fourth, unnamed employee had a chat in which de Oliveira stated that “the boss” wanted the server removed.
It also includes an additional offense under the Espionage Act for Trump allegedly keeping a confidential document “concerning military activity in a foreign country.”
According to the accusation, Trump allegedly told visitors to his New Jersey golf club in 2021 of the defense paper, “‘As president, I could have declassified it,’ and ‘Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.'”
Trump called the new allegations “ridiculous” in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday night.
“It’s election interference at the highest level,” he said, blaming his potential campaign opponent President Joe Biden and the Justice Department for “prosecutorial misconduct.”
In a brief statement, his campaign termed the special counsel assigned to the investigation, Jack Smith, “deranged” and stated that he “knows they have no case.”
Earlier Thursday, US media reported that Trump’s lawyers met with Smith and were advised that an indictment in a different case filed on January 6 was imminent.
Trump claimed his team had not been told when any indictment in the case, which is based on his followers’ 2021 attack on the US Capitol, would be issued.
“My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an indictment of me would only further destroy our country,” Trump said on social media.
“No indication of notice was given during the meeting — Do not trust the Fake News on anything!”
