Former President Donald Trump denied deleting security footage from his Mar-a-Lago residence or ordering anyone to delete the tapes, days after Special Counsel Jack Smith hit him with additional charges related to his handling of classified documents.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that security footage from his Mar-a-Lago home had not been deleted and had been handed over to the federal government. Smith rolled out with three additional charges against the former president on Thursday and charged a third person, Carlos De Oliveira, in the case related to Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, according to a superseding indictment.
“MAR-A-LAGO SECURITY TAPES WERE NOT DELETED. THEY WERE VOLUNTARILY HANDED OVER TO THE THUGS, HEADED UP BY DERANGED JACK SMITH,” Trump wrote in his post in all caps. (RELATED: Donald Trump Announces Major Shakeup In Legal Defense)
Trump claimed in his post that nobody had gone “to court to stop them from getting these tapes,” adding that he never ordered “anybody to delete them.”
“PROSECUTORIAL FICTION & MISCONDUCT! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” Trump concluded in his post.
In early June, Trump was indicted and charged with 37 federal counts of conspiring to obstruct justice, mishandling classified documents, providing false statements and withholding documents or records. The new charges against Trump include two new counts of obstruction, and one count of “unlawful retention of National Defense Information,” according to the superseding indictment.
De Oliveira, and a Mar-a-Lago employee and Trump aide, Walt Nauta, have been charged with allegedly moving boxes within the home.