Trump Justice Investigation: Former President Donald J. Trump was accused of wiping Mar-a-Lago security camera data to obstruct investigators. Trump’s first investigator, Robert S. Mueller III, wondered if he had obstructed his 2016 campaign inquiry. Even when Justice Department officials and legal experts disagreed, his attorney general, who was partly picked because he disputed the inquiry, said Mr. Trump didn’t break the law. The second special counsel, Jack Smith, accused Trump of mishandling important evidence on Thursday. Mr. Trump ordered Mar-a-Lago’s management to trash the security camera videos days after the Justice Department sought them. Andrew Goldstein, the chief obstruction investigator, believes Mr. Mueller missed the infraction.
A white-collar defense lawyer, Mr. Goldstein, claimed that erasing evidence obstructs justice. Jurors understand. It was more heinous than Mueller’s obstruction. If proven, Trump’s other crimes are easier to prove. Trump has always resisted attorneys, regulators, and other potential punishments.
Trump thought Mueller had cleared him. In office, he trusted the Justice Department. The race was lost. In his book, Trump’s third national security director, John R. Bolton, dubbed his strategy “obstruction as a way of life.”
Trump’s staff argues he must win the election to overcome his legal concerns. He addressed 2024 after the new allegations. He said he would use the conservative news site to avoid any legal trouble over the important document issue. Mr. Smith’s question on Mr. Trump’s 2020 plans was also cited.
Trump threatened Breitbart. Jack Smith? Keep him?
Mr. Trump purpously wants to stop the Justice Department’s private information investigation.
The Justice Department handed Mr. Trump’s corporation a grand jury subpoena in June 2018. Mar-a-Lago monitoring was desired. Classified boxes were handled near storage.The ex-president called Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira after getting the subpoena. The prosecution said the men spoke for 24 minutes.Two days later, Mr. De Oliveira and Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, entered a security booth. They entered a storage room tunnel by flashlight. They noted monitor-displayed security cameras.
Mr. De Oliveira talked personally with Mar-a-Lago’s security personnel a few days later. The accusations said the conversation should “stay just between them.”
Mr. De Oliveira said “the boss” ordered the server removed. The video’s producer continued, “He wouldn’t know how to do that, and he didn’t think he had permission to do that.”
What’s next? Oliveira continued. The New York Times reported in May that investigators suspected someone close to Mr. Trump tried to minimize the audio the Trump Organization provided the government for surveillance. After the August Mar-a-Lago search, Mr. Trump depended on White House loyalty.
“Mr. Nauta told another Trump employee that someone simply wants to ensure Carlos is doing well,” the indictment states. This worker said Mr. Nauta, Loyal,” and Mr. De Oliveira “wouldn’t do anything to harm their relationship with Mr. Trump.”
Mr. Trump allegedly helped Mr. De Oliveira find a lawyer after the meeting. Trump’s political action committee is paying Mr. De Oliveira, Mr. Nauta, and other Trump workers’ record dispute legal fees. Mueller claimed Trump pressed Comey for allegiance immediately after becoming president. Trump fired Mr. Comey after five months of probing his team’s Russia ties. Comey’s firing made Mueller a special prosecutor.
Mueller alleges Trump obstructed justice 12 times. Mr. Trump directed his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, to write a memo contradicting Mueller, which was bad. McGahn opposes Trump.
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Trump again. The Justice Department claimed Mr. Mueller‘s friends, Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, jeopardized Mr. Trump and his campaign. Trump spoke of pardons in court. Trump pardoned them. Mr. Mueller’s former lawyer, Brandon Van Grack, said, “There are lots of ways to put a stop to an investigation, but not all of them have the same outcome.” Lawyers find the truth. Disintegration concerns. Removes evidence permanently
“The justice system and Democrats who support it have not been successful because they are wrong about the facts,” said Trump spokeswoman Steven Cheung. History decides. “Before becoming president, Trump ruled lawyers, politicians, and businesspeople. Friends and ex-colleagues stated he lived in NYC. They said politics, government, and real estate were corrupt. He believed bargains could solve everything.
He targeted Robert Morgenthau and Rudolph W. Giuliani. Former colleagues said he hired a court-system-savvy counsel for major claims. In April 2018, the Russian investigation targeted Michael D. Cohen. He knows many Trump secrets. Trump instructed Cohen to protect himself when the FBI searched his hotel, apartment, and office that month.
Cohen tweeted his loyalty. After that, Cohen told investigators that Trump paid a porn actress to keep quiet about their 2016 election rendezvous. He said Trump used “code” to hide his goals. In “The Room Where It Happened,” former national security advisor John Bolton argues that Donald Trump habitually intervened in law enforcement and other government measures related to foreign leaders.
Mr. Bolton said Mr. Trump told Turkey’s President Erdogan he would “handle things” during an inquiry into Halkbank, a government-owned bank that evaded Iran sanctions.
Mr. Bolton described how Mr. Trump has abused government power on Friday. Trump stopped equipping the Bidens with fake Ukraine information. Bolton said, “When he was president, it was difficult for him to distinguish himself from the government.” Why didn’t government officials actively assist him?
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