A legal drama involving former US President Donald Trump has taken a new turn as one of his employees, Yuscil Taveras, known as Trump Employee 4, has implicated him in a classified documents case.
This revelation emerged after Taveras changed his testimony upon switching lawyers, prompting prosecutors to assert that Trump and two aides engaged in efforts to erase security camera footage.
The court filing, released on Tuesday, outlines Taveras’ altered stance, which directly involves Trump, his close aide Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira.
These individuals have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
At the heart of the matter is an accusation that Trump mishandled sensitive files’ storage at his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, and attempted to conceal the alleged wrongdoing by erasing security video evidence.
Taveras’ switch of testimony followed a notification from special counsel Jack Smith, who oversees the case, that he was being investigated for perjury.
It was revealed that Taveras’ former lawyer also represented co-defendant Nauta, which posed a conflict of interest.
In March of this year, Taveras testified before a grand jury, repeatedly denying any involvement or knowledge of discussions related to the security footage at Mar-a-Lago.
However, prosecutors claim to have evidence that De Oliveira requested Taveras to delete CCTV footage after investigators sought the video as part of their examination into the movement of boxes containing the sensitive documents within the resort.
The court document explained that a dilemma arose due to the potential perjury charges Taveras could face if he corrected his previous false testimony, implicating Nauta, his former attorney’s other client.
On the other hand, leaving his false testimony uncorrected could subject Taveras to criminal charges for perjury.
Taveras, who is not charged in the case, decided to change legal representation, accepting a public defender offered by the chief judge overseeing the federal grand jury, James Boasberg.
Following this shift, Taveras retracted his previous false testimony and provided information linking Nauta, De Oliveira, and Trump to efforts to delete security camera footage, according to the court filing.
The case, set for trial next May, is one of several legal battles involving Mr. Trump, who faces criminal charges in three other cases.
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