The additional charges are another stunning chapter in prosecutors’ case against the former president, who has repeatedly professed that he “quickly” shared all security camera footage from his estate with the government.
Trump now faces two new obstruction-of-justice charges related to the alleged attempt to erase the security camera video. In addition, the new indictment adds a felony count under the Espionage Act stemming from his alleged possession of the war plan. He now faces 32 counts of willfully retaining national defense information under the Espionage Act and eight counts related to alleged efforts to obstruct the investigation.
The new indictment alleges that on June 27, 2022, De Oliveira met with a Trump Organization employee in an audio closet at Mar-a-Lago and asked that person — unnamed in the indictment — to delete the security camera video sought by prosecutors in a grand jury subpoena days earlier.
“De Oliveira told [the employee] ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted,” the new indictment alleges. The employee “responded that he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe he would have the rights to do that,” the indictment adds.
