Sources familiar with the matter revealed to ABC News that former President Donald Trump’s trip to Mar-a-Lago, which was allegedly kept quiet by his aides, raised suspicions among special counsel Jack Smith’s team. This trip happened just weeks before FBI agents searched the property for classified materials in Trump’s possession as part of the government’s investigation into classified documents. The special counsel team viewed this trip as a potential additional effort by Trump to obstruct the investigation.
According to sources familiar with the matter, investigators have raised questions about a previously undisclosed visit that took place from July 10-12 in the summer of 2022. The purpose of this visit was to determine whether it was part of Trump’s alleged effort to withhold documents after receiving a subpoena demanding their return. Witnesses have been interviewed regarding this matter, as investigators seek to uncover any potential ties to Trump’s broader scheme.
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Sources familiar with the testimony of a witness who worked closely with the former president reported that Trump was in the area “checking on the boxes” during the trip, according to the witness.
Last year, Trump entered a plea of not guilty to 40 criminal counts that were linked to his handling of classified materials after he left the White House. The prosecutors claimed that he refused multiple requests to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and even took steps to obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Additionally, his longtime aide, Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira also pleaded not guilty to charges related to the same incident.
Trump has vehemently denied all allegations and has labeled the investigation as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Gathering evidence
According to sources, the trip was considered highly unusual by several witnesses who spoke to investigators. This was because during the summer months, Trump usually spends his time at his Bedminster club in New Jersey. Moreover, his living quarters at Mar-a-Lago were undergoing construction during the visit.
Sources have reported that other witnesses, who were interviewed by Smith’s team, were under the impression that Trump had come back to oversee the progress of the renovations.
According to ABC News, Donald Trump allegedly changed the lock on a closet in his residence just weeks before a trip. This occurred while his attorney was in Mar-a-Lago’s basement searching for classified documents in a storage room that he was told contained all such documents. Despite the FBI’s search of the estate in August 2022, they failed to check the locked closet in Trump’s residence, which some investigators later came to believe should have been done.
As investigators were collecting evidence that Trump still had classified documents, a trip was taken to Mar-a-Lago. In late June 2022, a subpoena was issued to obtain surveillance footage of Trump’s aides moving boxes between a storage room in the resort and his residence.
During the trip, Nauta had an unplanned visit to Mar-a-Lago, which was similar to a previous instance. In the superseding indictment, it is alleged that he conspired with Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira to delete security camera footage.
When ABC News reached out for comment, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, accused prosecutors of lying and illegally leaking material. However, no evidence was provided to support these claims.
According to ABC News, Cheung has voiced his opinion that the documents case was a political charade from the start and should be completely dismissed.
ABC News reached out to the special counsel’s office for comment, but a spokesperson declined to provide a statement.
‘Keeping this one quiet’
Sources revealed that during Trump’s visit in July 2022, some staff were perplexed about where he would reside on the property due to ongoing renovations in his living quarters.
According to sources familiar with a witness’ statements, it was revealed that “they were keeping this one quiet… nobody knew about this trip.”
According to reliable sources cited by ABC News, Trump departed from New Jersey on July 9, 2022, headed for a campaign rally in Anchorage, Alaska, with plans to return to New Jersey thereafter. However, as the trip drew closer, he altered his plans and opted to fly to Florida instead, as evidenced by updated aircraft manifests.
Sources have revealed that investigators working on the case have pinpointed a set of peculiar actions carried out by Trump and his close aides to ensure the trip remained covert.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that during the trip, Nauta, who accompanied Trump, sent multiple text messages to key members of staff, emphasizing the need for discretion concerning the Florida visit.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Nauta sent a text message to a longtime Trump employee just a day before Trump’s arrival in Florida, stating that he believes Trump prefers to have a limited number of people around on Monday.
According to sources familiar with the communications, on July 8th, a Trump Organization employee contacted Nauta to verify rumors of a Trump visit and make the necessary preparations. However, Nauta emphasized the need for discretion during the trip. To convey this message, he sent a text message to the employee containing emojis of zippers over the mouth, which is a common way of indicating secrecy.
Sources have revealed that Nauta communicated with De Oliveira through a text message on July 7, where he wrote “Coming down to FL soon” and added shushing emojis to emphasize the need for discretion.
Sources familiar with De Oliveira’s meetings with investigators have revealed that he initially denied having any knowledge of Trump’s trip to Florida. However, the special counsel has evidence that suggests otherwise. In fact, De Oliveira was well aware of Trump’s travel plans, as corroborated by security camera footage that shows De Oliveira and Trump together.
Sources have disclosed that de Oliveira informed investigators that he had a fleeting encounter with the ex-president on that trip.
Investigators had several occasions where they suspected that Trump was trying to obstruct their probe, and Smith’s interest in the trip is one of them.
In a recent court filing, Smith’s team uncovered new information regarding the alleged obstruction of justice by Trump and his associates. According to the filing, when Trump learned of a government subpoena for video footage from Mar-a-Lago, he directed his aides to secretly return several boxes that had been taken from the storage room in the club’s basement. The aim was to avoid being caught on camera, thus obstructing the investigation.
