Former President Donald Trump reacted in particularly antagonistic terms this weekend to the emergence in days prior of new criminal charges against him in the case already brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith that relates to his handling of sensitive documents from his time in office.
The new allegations include another count of the allegedly unlawful retention of records and claims of his involvement in a push to delete security footage amid prosecutors’ push for information from Mar-a-Lago, Donald’s resort property in Florida where these documents were stored. Trump directly contests key allegations from investigators. “MAR-A-LAGO SECURITY TAPES WERE NOT DELETED,” he posted on Sunday. “THEY WERE VOLUNTARILY HANDED OVER TO THE THUGS, HEADED UP BY DERANGED JACK SMITH. WE DID NOT EVEN GO TO COURT TO STOP THEM FROM GETTING THESE TAPES. I NEVER TOLD ANYBODY TO DELETE THEM. PROSECUTORIAL FICTION & MISCONDUCT! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”
Former Trump ally Michael Cohen has previously accused the former president of generally using a roundabout way of speaking amid particularly sensitive matters, something that to some could provide the backdrop for Trump claiming he never directed the deletion of that footage, even if he had made such an aim on his part clear. Prosecutors specifically allege that an employee at Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira, who is now also charged, told another staff member working on Mar-a-Lago matters that Trump had been seeking that deletion.
Meanwhile, the new count against Trump alleging his unlawful retention of sensitive government materials relates to the military materials he is accused of showing to unauthorized persons during a gathering at his New Jersey golf resort in 2021 that included individuals working on a book from former Trump staffer Mark Meadows. Generally, these charges have not preceded any major drop in support for Trump’s latest campaign, and he remains ahead in most polls from Republicans’ primary.
