Mar-a-Lago employee testifies against Trump in criminal investigation over classified records handling

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An employee from former US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is now testifying against him in an ongoing criminal investigation. The probe, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, focuses on Trump's handling of classified records after leaving the White House.

The individual, known only as "Trump Employee 4" in legal papers, has dramatically shifted his grand jury testimony. This follows a meeting with an attorney from the federal defender's office in Washington, D.C., during which he decided to sever ties with a lawyer who had been recommended by Trump's legal team and financed by his political action committee, the Daily Wire reports.

The change in stance was disclosed in documents filed by Smith's team in response to an inquiry from U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. Judge Cannon, presiding over the Florida case, sought clarification on why prosecutors were still gathering grand jury evidence in Washington.

Furthermore, Special Counsel Smith has informed Judge Cannon that the Washington, D.C., grand jury has concluded its work. This revelation could potentially add a new dimension to the legal troubles surrounding the former president.

“During these investigations, the Government gathered evidence that Trump employee Carlos De Oliveira tried to enlist the director of information technology for Mar-a-Lago (identified in the superseding indictment as Trump Employee 4) to delete Mar-a-Lago security footage after the grand jury in the District of Columbia had issued a subpoena for the footage,” the court filing stated.

The U.S. government has contacted Stanley Woodward, the legal representative Trump Employee 4, alerting him to a potential conflict of interest in his representation. The concern arises from his simultaneous representation of Walt Nauta, a Trump aide who stands accused of colluding with the former president to hinder the grand jury's inquiry into Trump's management of classified material.

“Mr. Woodward responded that he did not have a reason to believe that his concurrent representation of Trump Employee 4 and Nauta raised a conflict of interest,” the filing said. “When Trump Employee 4 testified before the grand jury in the District of Columbia in March 2023, he repeatedly denied or claimed not to recall any contacts or conversations about the security footage at Mar-a-Lago. In testimony before the same grand jury, De Oliveira likewise denied any contact with Trump Employee 4 regarding security footage. The Government’s evidence indicated that the testimony by Trump Employee 4 and De Oliveira was false.”

Several weeks following the initial contact, prosecutors notified Trump Employee 4 that he was the “target of a grand jury investigation in the District of Columbia into whether he committed perjury there, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623.”

“Trump Employee 4’s criminal exposure identified in the target letter was entirely due to his false sworn denial before the grand jury in the District of Columbia that he had information about obstructive acts that would implicate Nauta (and others),” the filing said.

Read the full report here.