Former President Trump brushed off warnings he could be charged for keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence, promising to pardon one of his now co-defendants if charges were filed, according to new court documents.
The details, laid out in unsealed documents as part of a broader legal battle in the Mar-a-Lago case, lay bare the candid advice from an unnamed witness as well as other details about the federal investigation.
The witness, identified only as Person 16 in the documents, told Trump he should cooperate with federal investigators looking for classified documents, saying doing so could prevent him from being indicted.
Whatever you have, give everything back. Let them come here and get everything, the witness said they told Trump. Dont give them a noble reason to indict you, because they will.
But Trump seemed unfazed, according to the witness, who said the ex-president gave a weird youre the man type of response to the warnings.
The witness refused to have their conversation with the FBI recorded out of fear of reprisal. The summary of the interview describes them as someone with a security clearance and daily access to the Oval Office.
The interview counters a defense from Trump that there was a standard order to declassify anything the former president had, with the witness saying they heard that for the first time only after Trump was facing charges.
The witness said they urged Trump multiple times to return the records being sought then by the National Archives, telling Trump something to the effect of it was not worth all that aggravation.
The witness also said they had urged Trumps children to give him the same warning, noting that the former president sometimes needed to be messaged the same thing from multiple people close to him.
There are issues with the boxes. They belong to the government, talk to your dad and about giving them back the witness said he had told Trumps children.
The witness also addressed conversations with Trumps valet, Walt Nauta, who has since been charged with aiding the former president in moving boxes as well as for lying to investigators.
The witness said Nauta was told by those close to Trump that the documents case was politically motivated and much ado about nothing and that even if he faced charges for lying to the bureau, Trump would pardon him in 2024.
It's a slam dunk-case and it will never make it to trial if Cannon has her way.