A newly unredacted version of the search warrant used in the Mar-a-Lago investigation relating to Donald Trump‘s classified documents trial revealed that the Department of Justice has obtained security camera footage that “reflects that evidence has been moved recently”after a subpoena was issued by the DOJ for access to any classified documents and that “the current location of the boxes that were removed from the storage room area but not returned to it is unknown.”
The footage is quite relevant in the case against former president Trump, as it pertains to several of the counts against him in the indictment, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, and a scheme to conceal.
Trump Charged With Violating Espionage Act In 2nd Indictment
This most recent indictment—the former president is facing a first indictment in New York for alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election—involves 37 total felony counts relating to illegally retaining national security secrets and to obstruction of justice. An audio recording was recently leaked to CNN in which the former president seems to acknowledge that he kept classified national security documents after his term as president, stating on the two-minute audio that “these are the papers” and referring to their “highly confidential” nature. The recording will likely be used as key evidence in the federal case.
Donald Trump became the first president both former and current to be charged with criminal activity with his first indictment. That's not all for his legal woes—he also faces a civil trial for alleged fraud related to his businesses, and was recently found liable in another civil lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll for purported sexual abuse, and ordered to pay the journalist $2 million in damages.
Mar-a-Lago Security Footage Shows Trump Staffer Moving Documents After DOJ Subpoena
Shortly after Trump left office and returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private estate club where he also lives, the national archives and Records Administration inquired about missing records and ultimately retrieved 15 boxes of documents that the former president had brought with him to the Florida compound, many of which were pictured in an image from Mar-a-Lago showing cardboard boxes stacked up in a bathroom.
The DOJ issued a subpoena for additional records in May 2022, and days later, the Mar-a-Lago security footage showed, a Trump staffer identified as "Witness 5" in the search warrant was seen leaving the Mar-a-Lago storage room with 3 boxes, which have not to this date been located. This aide was questioned by the FBI just 2 days after they were pictured on the footage, and then on May 30 was captured again by the security camera moving approximately 50 boxes from the room that were consistent with those containing classified documents. Then, over the course of June 1st and 2nd, the staffer was again seen moving 40 more boxes. As this followed a subpoena, the attempted concealment was in direct violation of the DOJ's investigation. It seems the Justice Department believes this attempted further concealment of the document evidence was undertaken at Trump's command.
“Video footage reflects that evidence has been moved recently,” prosecutors wrote in the search warrant affidavit. “It cannot be seen on the video footage where the boxes were moved when they were taken from the storage room area, and accordingly, the current location of the boxes that were removed from the storage room area but not returned to it is unknown.”
This recently unredacted search warrant follows a motion filed by Donald Trump's defense team last week to postpone the former president’s classified documents case until after the 2024 election, arguing that holding the trial beforehand “will create extraordinary challenges in the jury selection process and limit the Defendants’ ability to secure a fair and impartial adjudication,” according to the motion.
