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☆ Opinion: The Donald Trump and Hunter Biden surprises
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

So it was remarkable Wednesday when the deal for Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanors for his failure to pay taxes on time fell apart in a federal courtroom after the judge raised questions about it. Special counsel Jack Smith unexpectedly added a major allegation to the indictment charging former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents. The Trump and Hunter Biden developments underlined how America’s political climate is being shaped by what happens in the courts. This addition, an alleged surveillance tape conspiracy, almost reads like a spy novel.”“It features Trump employee and co-defendant Walt Nauta’s surprise clandestine trip to Florida. To W. James Antle III, it was the Hunter Biden plea deal snafu that brought to the forefront the “powerful split screen that drives” how Republican voters see the emerging 2024 presidential race.

Persons: Robert Burns, beasties, ”, Burns, aren’t, Hunter Biden, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, ” Smith, Trump, Dana Summers, Norman Eisen, Walt Nauta’s, Nauta, De Oliveira, De Oliveria, ’, ” Eisen, James Antle III, Hunter, Joe Biden’s, Maryellen Noreika, ” “ Noreika, couldn’t, Joe Biden, wasn’t, ” Bill Bramhall, Mitch McConnell, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Julian Zelizer, “, ” “, Walt Handelsman, Elon Musk’s, Twitter “, Bill Carter, it’s, … Musk, —, Musk, ” Carter, Bill McGuire, ” McGuire, Mark Wolfe, Cassandra Lovejoy, Clay Jones, David Grusch, Jason Colavito, Colavito, Barbara Lee, Abigail E, Moore, ” Lee, Michael Bociurkiw, Odesa, Vladimir Putin’s, ” Bociurkiw, “ Handshakes, ” Netanyahu Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Frida Ghitis, Netanyahu, Drew Sheneman, Peniel, Joseph, Kamala Harris, Sophia A, Nicole Hemmer, Patrick T, Brown, David J, Skorton, Frank R, Lisa Benson, Barbie, Dean Obeidallah, ‘, GOP Sen, Ted Cruz, Mattel, Barbie —, Greta Gerwig’s, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling —, ” Obeidallah, Taylor Swift Taylor Swift, Swift, Barbra Streisand, Margaret H, Willison, O’Connor Sinéad O'Connor, Andrew Chin, Sinéad O’Connor, Sarah Gundle, Taylor, Sinead O’Connor’s, ” Don’t, Lawrence, Kara Alaimo, Jill Filipovic, Jeff Pearlman, He’s, Catherine Steenkeste, David A, Andelman, Mort Rosenblum, who’s, he’s, ” We’ll Organizations: CNN, Mar, Trump, Justice Department, Fox, Republicans, GOP, of Justice, New York Daily, Times, Twitter, SpaceX, World Meteorological Organization, University College London, Pentagon, “, Disney, Supreme, Agency, Education, African, Trinity, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Billboard, Machine, Vogue Theatre, International Herald Tribune Locations: Scottish, Florida, Bedminster, New, California, Rhodes, Corfu, Evia, Europe, United States, Odesa, Miami, York, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Israel’s, North America, Vancouver, Canada, White, Paris, Seine, gunpoint, ”

☆ ‘The family feels like he got trapped’: How a low-profile Mar-a-Lago employee got tangled up in Trump’s legal problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Alayna Treene Zachary Cohen Kristen Holmes Randi Kaye Christie Johnson | Alayna Treene | Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The 56-year-old De Oliveira lives in an apartment in a middle class townhome community in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, about 20 minutes north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. Almeida told CNN he believed that De Oliveria has worked at Mar-a-Lago for more than 20 years. Some members of his family, “couldn’t even sleep last night with all of this going on,” one family member told CNN. “He isn’t familiar with how the government here works and he was probably just being loyal to his boss who is paying his bills,” the person told CNN. Asked about the Trump indictment, Brion said, “I can’t even imagine how he could be implicated in that mess.”

Persons: Donald Trump, Carlos De Oliveira, De Oliveira, Walt Nauta, Trump’s, De Oliveria, “ I’ve, Trump, “, hadn’t, ”, ’, Yuscil, ‘, de Oliveira, Tiberio Almeida, De, Almeida, Oliveria, Carlos, It’s, ” Almeida, “ He’s, Miami De Oliveira, De Oliveira “, John Irving, Taveras, Irving, ” Raymond Brion, Brion Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Trump, White House, “, Mar, Club, Lago, DC, Trump’s, America, Prosecutors Locations: Trump’s Florida, Mar, “, Palm Beach Gardens , Florida, Trump’s, Portugal, Massachusetts, Florida, Miami

CNN —The Mar-a-Lago employee referenced in the superseding indictment adding major accusations against former President Donald Trump and a new co-defendant to the case has been identified by two people close to the investigation as Yuscil Taveras, an information technology worker. Taveras oversaw the surveillance camera footage at the property. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team had previously heard testimony about odd conversations between Taveras, Walt Nauta and the new co-defendant Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager, regarding surveillance footage. Taveras is at the center of the new accusations added to the indictment, including an exchange he had with De Oliveira on June 27, 2022. According to the indictment, Trump called De Oliveira “and told De Oliveira that Trump would get De Oliveira an attorney.”He is currently represented by John Irving.

Persons: Donald Trump, Yuscil, Taveras, Jack Smith’s, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, De Oliveira, “, ” De Oliveira, ”, Trump, De, De Oliveira “, John Irving Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, Lago, Trump’s, America Locations: Washington, Florida, Miami

Trump now faces 40 charges in the case, after originally being indicted on 37 counts last month. His valet, Walt Nauta, is also facing new charges, and prosecutors have added a third defendant and another Trump employee, Carlos De Oliveira, to the criminal case. Prosecutors have charged Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira with obstruction over the attempt to delete the footage. The indictment also adds De Oliveira to an existing obstruction charge, claiming he conspired with Trump and Nauta to hide sensitive government documents. UNLAWFUL RETENTIONThe new indictment alleges Trump retained one more document containing national defense information than was listed in the original charges.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, Nauta, De Oliveira, Jacqueline Thomsen, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Former U.S, Trump's, Trump, Prosecutors, Nauta, FBI, Thomson Locations: Former, Lago, Palm Beach , Florida, Mar, New Jersey, Washington

July 28 (Reuters) - Here is a list of legal troubles facing former U.S. President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Trump said his attorneys met on Thursday with U.S. Justice Department officials, in a sign charges could come soon. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Department of Justice had not told his attorneys when action was likely. Officials have testified that during his final months in office, Trump pressured them with false voter fraud claims. Legal experts said Trump may have violated at least three Georgia criminal laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, JAN, General Merrick Garland, Trump's, Smith, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, De Oliveira, Fani Willis, Brad Raffensperger, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, reimbursing Cohen, Cohen, Jean Carroll, Carroll, Letitia James, James, Donald Jr, Eric, Joseph Ax, Luc Cohen, Karen Freifeld, Susan Heavey, Sarah N, Lynch, Jonathan Stempel, Jacqueline Thomsen, Noeleen Walder, Howard Goller, Daniel Wallis Organizations: CAPITOL, U.S, Capitol, U.S . Justice Department, Department of Justice, White, Trump, Prosecutors, Republican Georgia, U.S . Constitution, Trump's, CNN, NEW, GENERAL, New York, Trump Organization, Thomson Locations: Miami, Lago Florida, New Jersey, GEORGIA, Fulton County, Georgia, U.S ., York, Manhattan, Lago, Florida, New York

CNN —Speaker Kevin McCarthy deflected questions about the additional charges filed Thursday against former President Donald Trump in the case alleging mishandling of classified documents during his time in the White House, instead pointing to President Joe Biden. In his latest defense of Trump, McCarthy questioned why Biden had classified documents from his time as a senator and why the president hasn’t been indicted, but would not engage on the new charges that Trump is facing. “What concerns me is you have a sitting president that has a situation like this, but even worse, that had documents, but nothing’s happened,” McCarthy told CNN’s Manu Raju. Trump, who already faced 37 criminal charges in the case, was charged with an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. In one recent example, CNN reported earlier this month that McCarthy told Trump in a private phone call that he personally backed the idea of expunging Trump’s two impeachments and would bring it up to the conference to gauge support, a source said.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, McCarthy, Biden, hasn’t, ” McCarthy, CNN’s Manu Raju, “, there’s, Jack Smith, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira –, “ it’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, Justice Department, Biden Inc

He is accused alongside Trump and Walt Nauta of obstructing the investigation with the alleged bid to delete security footage at Trump’s Florida resort. Trump and Nauta pleaded not guilty to the initial round of charges Smith brought in the case last month. “There was no document,” Trump told Fox News last month. “That same day, TRUMP called DE OLIVEIRA and told DE OLIVEIRA that TRUMP would get DE OLIVEIRA an attorney,” the indictment says. It’s not yet clear how the new charges will affect the pace of the case against Trump and Nauta.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Trump, Carlos De Oliveira, Walt Nauta, Nauta, Smith, ’, Trump ‘, De Oliveira, “ De Oliveira, Trump’s, ” Trump, De, TRUMP, DE OLIVEIRA, OLIVEIRA, Edwin G, Torres, It’s, Aileen Cannon –, “, ”, De Olivera Organizations: CNN, Trump, Mar, Trump Employee, Fox News, FBI, Prosecutors, Lago, DE, Nauta, US, Justice Department Locations: Florida, Trump’s Florida, Iran, Fulton County , Georgia, Mar, “, Bedminster , New Jersey, Ft . Pierce , Florida

The updated indictment said that in late June of last year, Mr. De Oliveira went to see Mr. Taveras — who is identified only as Trump Employee 4 — and told him that “‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted,” referring to the computer server holding the security footage. “What are we going to do?” the indictment quoted Mr. De Oliveira as saying, after Mr. Taveras objected and said he would not know how and did not think he had the right to do so. A statement attributed to “the Trump campaign” with no person’s name attached called the new accusations a “desperate and flailing attempt” by President Biden’s Justice Department. The original indictment against Mr. Trump was filed last month in Florida and accused him of illegally holding on to 31 individual classified documents containing national defense information. That indictment also charged with Mr. Trump and Walt Nauta, one of his personal aides, with a conspiracy to obstruct the government’s repeated attempts to reclaim the classified material.

Persons: De Oliveira, Taveras —, “, ’, Taveras, Smith, Trump, De Oliveira’s, John Irving, Walt Nauta Organizations: Trump, Mr, Biden’s, Department Locations: Washington, Florida

CNN —Special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday brought additional charges against former President Donald Trump in the case alleging mishandling of classified documents from his time in the White House. New charges were also filed against Trump’s aide Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker De Oliveira was also added to the case. De Oliveira, 56, was charged with lying to the FBI about moving boxes with classified documents. De Oliveira was the maintenance worker who helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents around Mar-a-Lago after the Justice Department first subpoenaed Trump for classified documents last May. Justice Department officials came to Mar-a-Lago the day after Corcoran’s search, and Corcoran handed over 38 classified documents he had found.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira –, Trump’s, De Oliveira, ’, Trump, Nauta, Evan Corcoran, Corcoran, “, ” De Oliveira, John Irving, Irving, Donald Trump’s, Biden, ”, Smith Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, Trump, Justice Department, FBI, Justice, Mar, Department, Donald Trump’s Save America, of Justice, DC Locations: Lago, Iran, Bedminster , New Jersey, Mar, Miami, Washington ,, Washington

The employee, whom the person declined to name, received the letter in the past few weeks after appearing in May before a federal grand jury in Washington. Footage from the cameras at Mar-a-Lago has been at the center of the case against Mr. Trump and was an instrumental part of the evidence used to obtain a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago last August. hauled away a trove of more than 100 classified documents that Mr. Trump had taken with him from the White House and kept even after receiving a subpoena demanding their return. The surveillance footage was also key to the indictment that Mr. Smith’s office brought last month against Mr. Trump and his personal aide, Walt Nauta, in the Southern District of Florida. The indictment charges both men with conspiring to obstruct the government’s efforts to reclaim dozens of highly classified documents and Mr. Trump alone of illegally holding onto the documents after he left office.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald J, Trump’s, Lago, Trump, Walt Nauta Organizations: Trump Organization, Prosecutors, Lago, White, Mr, Southern District of Locations: Washington, Mar, Florida, Southern District, Southern District of Florida

☆ Fact check: Debunking Trump’s blizzard of dishonesty about his federal indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Washington CNN —Former President Donald Trump has responded to his federal indictment the way he has responded to various other crises – with a blizzard of dishonesty. Here is a fact check of 10 of the indictment-related claims Trump has made since the 37 federal charges against him were unsealed on Friday. Trump and the Presidential Records ActTrump claimed in North Carolina that he had abided by the Presidential Records Act: “And we had a great – we had a wonderful operation, everything by the Presidential Records Act.”Facts First: This is false. The Presidential Records Act says that all presidential records belong to the federal government the moment the president leaves office. Margaret Kwoka, a law professor at The Ohio State University and an expert on information law, said in a Friday email that “any comparison between congressional records and presidential records is an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden’s, “, ‘, Walt Nauta, HUNT, ”, Everybody, ‘ We’ve, ’, it’s, Brandon Van Grack, Mueller, Harold Martin “, Lago, Ronald Reagan’s, didn’t, ” Jason R, baselessly musing, –, Justice Department “, Trump’s, Biden, Joe Biden, Jack Smith, Smith, General Merrick Garland, Garland, ” Trump, CNN’s Paula Reid, Margaret Kwoka, “ He’s, Biden “, “ he’s, ” Biden Organizations: Washington CNN, Records, FBI, Trump, Trump In, Justice Department, National Security Agency, National Archives, Records Administration, NARA, Presidential Records, Presidential, Mar, White, New York Times, Biden, University of Delaware, The Ohio State University, Biden – Locations: Georgia, North Carolina, Mar, Lago, United States, Florida, Delaware, Washington

“Nothing more and nothing less.”The 49-page indictment included new details about how Trump allegedly took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in 2021 and resisted the government’s attempts to retrieve the classified materials. The indictment includes that photo – illustrating how the classified documents Trump kept were interspersed with newspapers and photographs. Trump wasn’t charged over classified documents he turned over voluntarilyWith the 31 documents the indictment describes as underlying the 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, the indictment also lists when those documents were recovered by the government. A separate special counsel investigation into Biden’s handling of documents remains ongoing, while the Justice Department told Pence’s attorney no charges would be brought over the discovery of classified documents in his Indiana home. What’s next in classified documents caseTrump has been summoned to appear in court in southern Florida at 3 p.m.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Trump, Walt Nauta, ” Smith, Smith, Biden, Justice Department’s, Trump’s, Joe Biden, Mike Pence, Nauta, ” Trump, “ Trump, ‘, ’, “, ”, –, Trump wasn’t, Evan Corcoran, Department’s, Biden –, Pence –, What’s, Aileen Cannon Organizations: CNN, Pence, Justice, DOJ, Trump, White, Defense Department, Justice Department, Mar, National Archives, The, Department Locations: Washington ,, Trump, Bedminster , New Jersey, Bedminster, Trump’s, Lago, United States, Trump’s Florida, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Congress, Indiana, Florida, New York, Fulton County

Prosecutors have been examining any effort to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation after Trump received a subpoena in May 2022 for classified documents. Subpoenas for surveillanceAgents first subpoenaed the Trump Organization for Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage last summer, before the August search by the FBI. But as more classified documents were found through the end of last year, investigators sought more surveillance footage from the Trump Organization, sources tell CNN. Corcoran found about three dozen classified documents, and he turned them over to FBI agents the following day when investigators came to Mar-a-Lago on June 3. In March, a judge ordered Corcoran, who has recused himself from representing Trump in the Mar-a-Lago case, to provide additional testimony.

Persons: Donald Trump’s Mar, Department’s, Trump, Jack Smith, Lago, Walt Nauta, Donald Trump, Jabin, Matthew Calamari Sr, Matthew Calamari Jr, Nauta, Evan Corcoran, Corcoran, Barrett Prettyman, Kevin Dietsch, “, subpoenaing Corcoran, hadn’t Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, White, Prosecutors, Mar, Trump, Trump Organization for Mar, FBI, Trump Organization, Justice Department, Palm Beach, Washington Post, DOJ, Justice, House, The, Department Locations: Florida, Mar, Lago, Trump, West Palm Beach , Florida, Washington , DC

CNN —Prosecutors for special counsel Jack Smith have been asking questions in recent weeks about the handling of surveillance footage from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after the Trump Organization received a subpoena last summer for the footage, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors are expected to ask them about the handling of the surveillance footage and Trump employees’ conversations following the subpoena, according to the sources. Calamari Sr., the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Trump Organization, has primarily overseen security operations for Trump and his properties during his decadeslong career working for Trump. His son, Calamari Jr., is director of security for the Trump Organization. An attorney for Calamari Sr. did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Trump's bad week is bad news for his comeback
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump’s bad week is bad news for his comeback. The House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals to the Justice Department – possibly of him or his close associates. “We know the committee has really been ahead of the Justice Department,” CNN’s Jamie Gangel said Tuesday, noting the Justice Department has sought testimony and evidence gathered by the January 6 committee. Helping alleged riotersInstead of focusing on the next election, Trump continues to fixate on his 2020 loss. A split in the GOPMcCarthy’s mission impossible is to find 218 votes from 222 House Republicans to gain the speaker’s gavel when the full chamber votes in January.

☆ A Trump employee told the FBI that the former president ordered staff to move boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

One of Donald Trump's employees told FBI agents the former president ordered boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago to be moved before federal agents searched the property, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source also told NBC News that the FBI obtained security video showing people moving boxes out of a storage room at Trump's Florida estate. When reached by NBC News, the FBI and Justice Department declined to comment. But the witness’ account suggests that the boxes were moved to Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago after the subpoena was issued. She said that Trump officials added a lock to the facility and that FBI agents broke the lock when they searched the property.

☆ A Trump aide is talking to the FBI about the Mar-a-Lago docs, reports say, appearing to confirm suspicions of an informant
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The rumor of an informant in Trump's orbit was fueled by new reports Wednesday. WaPo and CNN said a Trump employee was talking to the FBI over the Mar-a-Lago documents. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that a Trump employee had testified to the FBI of having been ordered by Trump to move boxes of documents to the former president's own residence in the complex. Those people, The Post said, described the witness as a Trump employee who is a key informant who had given multiple interviews to investigators. Some commentators, including aides, Trump's niece Mary Trump and former White House chief of staff under Trump Mick Mulvaney, have suggested that it could even be a member of Trump's own family.

The witness initially denied handling sensitive documents and in subsequent conversations with agents admitted to moving boxes at Trump’s request, the newspaper reported. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Budowich accused the Justice Department of leaking "misleading and false information" to the media. The Trump Organization also is set to go on trial on Oct. 24 on New York state criminal tax fraud charges. Separately in Georgia, a grand jury in the Fulton County is probing efforts by Trump to overturn the former president's 2020 election defeat.

☆ Letitia James vs. Donald J. Trump: What is New York's attorney general about to do to Trump and his company?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-10 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

NY AG Letitia James is about to sue Donald Trump and his real estate and golf resort business. Whatever James has up her sleeve after three long years of investigating the Trump Organization, it is now about to be revealed. A: James will sue the Trump Organization and Trump himself, the company's sole owner and beneficiary. Morian predicted James' lawsuit will closely mirror the allegations in a 115-page memorandum she filed in January. A: The New York-incorporated Trump Organization is an umbrella for some 500 other entities, many of them Delaware-registered LLCs.

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