By Aaron Miller-
The indictment against Donald Trump was yesterday expanded by federal prosecutors who unveiled new charges over an attempt to destroy surveillance footage, adding to the case he already has over retaining national security documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them.
The expanded indictment added a new section titled “The Attempt to Delete Security Camera Footage” that alleged in detail how Trump seemingly instructed an employee to wipe a server containing surveillance footage that prosecutors subpoenaed, which showed boxes of classified documents being removed from the storage room.
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The former president faces more than three dozen charges in the case, including more than 30 violations of the Espionage Act.
His trial is set for May 2024, at the end of the Republican presidential primary contest in which Trump is the frontrunner.
Federal prosecutors accuse the former U.S commander in chief of retaining defence information and conspiring with club employee, Carlos De Oliveira, to delete security footage to hide evidence of misconduct.
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Notes obtained by investigators reveal that Trump asked his lawyer Evan Corcoran something to the effect of “What happens if we just don’t respond at all?” and “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”.
On Friday morning, radio host John Fredericks asked Mr Trump if conviction and sentencing in one of the cases against him would stop his White House campaign.
The former president assured him that he would continue to run, even while incarcerated, adding that there is nothing in the Constitution to stop him.
Meanwhile, a separate federal grand jury is considering indicting Mr Trump on charges over the January 6 Capitol riot and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The latest indictment adds to his long list of cases one count of wilful retention of defence information and two of obstruction, making 40 charges in total in this case.
Mr Trump denies any wrongdoing and has called the prosecutor “deranged”.
He is fighting multiple legal cases as he attempts to pot his route back to the White House.
In a Friday morning interview, Trump emphasised his determination to continue his political aspirations to become president, insisting that he would not end his 2024 campaign even if he is criminally convicted.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to earlier charges in the case, alongside his personal aide Walt Nauta, who also received two additional charges of obstruction on Thursday.
He was already facing an additional count under the Espionage Act for retaining a classified document about US plans to attack Iran that he discussed on tape at his Bedminster club in New Jersey.
A Trump spokesperson said the latest charges were “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration “to harass president Trump and those around him”.
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