According to a new report from CNN, the investigative team led by Special Counsel Jack Smith at the federal Justice Department has been examining the response from Trump’s team to previous federal demands for surveillance footage from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in southern Florida. Investigators sought that video in their ongoing investigation into the handling of classified documents recovered from the property.
At issue is, among other factors, whether the footage was altered before it was provided to authorities, something that if proven could obviously expand any obstruction case arising from this criminal probe. Smith and his team have taken some specific new steps in their work on the footage questions, CNN noted, a list of efforts including new subpoenas and plans to hear Thursday from top individuals associated with Trump at his company, including Matthew Calamari Sr., who has long been involved with security operations around the former president.
Although the Calamaris were never formally accused of any crime, Matthew (whose son is Matthew Jr.) was among those who also benefited from some of the pricey benefits provided to top individuals at the Trump Organization connected to the tax fraud allegations against company entities and then-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who was jailed. Benefits evidently for the older Calamari came up at the trial for the Trump business entities, which were eventually found guilty and fined. Both members of the Calamari family were expected to testify Thursday in a grand jury setting in the documents case.
Even footage evidently produced by the Trump Organization showed individuals close to Trump moving potentially critically relevant storage boxes, so if something was excluded, the damaging revelations could seriously intensify. In Smith’s concurrent criminal investigation into political schemes after the last presidential election to secure another four years in office for Trump despite his loss, he recently heard — for some seven hours — from former VP Mike Pence. Pence testified before a grand jury, and reports indicated Smith was personally present for a substantial portion of the former vice president’s testimony. Pence’s appearance followed multiple failures in court to stop it from happening.
