Criminal proceedings dropped against Trump co-defendants in records case
Valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira were charged with conspiring with the president to obstruct an FBI investigation.
The US Justice Department has abandoned all criminal proceedings against the two co-defendants of President Donald Trump in the classified documents case, wiping out any legal peril they could have faced.
Mr Trump’s valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira were both charged with conspiring with the president to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents that Mr Trump took with him when he left the White House after his first term.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, saying that the prosecutor who brought it, special counsel Jack Smith, had been illegally appointed by the Justice Department.
Mr Smith’s team ended its case against Mr Trump after his November election win, citing longstanding department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be indicted.
On Wednesday, prosecutors informed the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals that it had withdrawn the appeal, formally ending the case.
“The United States of America moves to voluntarily dismiss its appeal with prejudice,” prosecutors wrote.
“The government has conferred with counsel for appellees Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who do not object to the voluntary dismissal.”
The Justice Department had previously committed to not making public Mr Smith’s report on the classified documents investigation as long as proceedings remained ongoing against Mr Nauta and Mr De Oliveira. But the Trump administration Justice Department is widely expected to keep the report permanently under wraps.
