Trump, Aide Plead Not Guilty to New Documents Case Charges
On Thursday, former Pres. Donald Trump and Walt Nauta, his longtime aide, pleaded not guilty to additional charges in the case over Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents that were taken from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Facts
- On Thursday, former Pres. Donald Trump and Walt Nauta, his longtime aide, pleaded not guilty to additional charges in the case over Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents that were taken from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence.1
- Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, appeared in federal court, where they faced updated charges of conspiring to delete surveillance video sought by investigators.2
- Trump – who issued his plea when he last week waived his right to appear in person – and Nauta were previously charged in June, but a new indictment last month added more charges and included De Oliveira.2
- De Oliveira was unable to make a plea because he hadn't secured local representation. His arraignment was rescheduled for next week.3
- All told, Trump is facing 40 charges in this case, while Nauta is facing eight.4
- Trump’s latest plea comes days after he was indicted and pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his alleged role in attempts to overturn Pres. Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.5
Sources: 1New York Times, 2PBS NewsHour, 3Guardian, 4Independent, and 5Forbes.
Narratives
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Mother Jones. The list of Trump's indictments keeps growing, and it seems more and more likely he’ll be spending the winter and spring in court. He can deny these charges all he wants, but it seems that his aides were acting on his orders to destroy evidence to keep investigators from retrieving the documents they requested several times. With this many indictments, it's only a matter of time before he's found guilty.
- Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by PJ Media. The immense number of indictments is an indication of how weaponized the Justice Department under Biden has become and how intensely it wants to achieve its goal of derailing the leader for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Eventually, however, the truth will prevail and the former president will be proven innocent.
