Trump classified files: Mar-a-Lago employee ‘FLOODED room containing video surveillance logs’

In the latest twist in the dramatic story of Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents, a Mar-a-Lago employee drained the resort’s swimming pool last October and flooded a room where computer servers containing surveillance video logs were kept, according to a new report out Monday.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the Department of Justice questioned at least one witness about the incident. CNN reported thatwhile obtaining surveillance footage to track how the White House documents were moved around Trump’s Palm Beach residence.

It’s unclear if the room was flooded on purpose or if it was a mistake. Prosecutors are investigating whether there was an attempt by Trump or his associates to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation after Trump received a subpoena for classified documents in May 2022.

The latest twist comes when Trump’s lawyers went to the Justice Department Monday morning to plead that the administration should not indict the former president in connection with his possession of the documents.

Lindsey Halligan, John Rowley and James Trusty reportedly spent about two hours at the Justice Department, and their meeting also included Special Counsel Jack Smith, who heads the federal investigation. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco did not attend.

After the meeting, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to post a message that appeared to indicate that his lawyers had spoken to him about the possibility of him being charged.

“How on earth could DOJ sue me who did nothing wrong,” Trump wrote in capital letters.

Trump has denied any allegations and claims to be the victim of a politically charged investigation led by prosecutors who do not want him to run for president again.

Prosecutors have targeted Trump, his bodyman Walt Nauta and a maintenance worker who helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents before federal agents searched the property in their investigation last summer.

The maintenance worker is the person who emptied the pool, flooding the IT room where the surveillance footage was kept, CNN reported.

A Mar-a-Lago employee drained the resort pool and flooded a room where computer servers containing surveillance video logs were kept

Donald Trump has denied any wrongdoing, but took to his Truth Social platform to post a message that appeared to indicate his lawyers had discussed with him the possibility that he could face charges

Under the Presidential Records Act, all records of a presidential administration are owned by the federal government and go to the National Archives after the end of a presidency. Trump, it has been reported, believed they were his property.

Investigators used witness testimony, security camera footage, and other evidence to build a timeline of what happened and what actions they believe Trump took:

• May 2021: National Archives realizes some documents from Trump’s presidency are missing
• December 2021: Archive requests the documents from the former president
• January 2022: Archives receive 15 boxes of material stored at Mar-a-Lago, some of which were found to contain classified material
• February 2022: The case is referred to the Ministry of Justice
• May 2022: After several back-and-forths with Trump’s legal team, the Justice Department issues a subpoena for additional records they believe are in the former president’s Florida home
• Investigators believe that after that subpoena arrived, storage boxes, including some containing classified materials, were moved from a Mar-a-Lago storage area, so Trump personally examined some of them
• June 2022: Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney go to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the additional material. They were given a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped with tape, containing the documents, according to later court documents. That envelope contained 38 records with classification marks, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret, and 17 marked top secret.
• August 2022: DOJ applied for a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, citing “probable cause” that additional presidential documents and classified information documents were left in Trump’s Florida home. Court documents show that the original search warrant application showed that officers believed “evidence of obstruction will be found at the property.”
• August 8, 2022: FBI agents raid Mar-a-Lago: They recover 18 documents marked top secret, 54 marked classified, 31 marked confidential, and 11,179 government documents or photos that had no classification marks.

Intent is key in the Justice Department case. Prosecutors must be able to demonstrate that any actions taken were made to attempt to obstruct or block an investigation.

SSurveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago provided to the Department of Justice showed Nauta and the maintenance worker moving document boxes around the resort around May or June 2022.

Earlier this year, Nauta testified to federal prosecutors that he moved boxes to Mar-a-Lago at Trump’s direction after the subpoena was issued and before the August Mar-a-Lago raid.

Two people helped Nauta, but did not know the details of their task, according to one of their lawyers.

At least two dozen people — including Mar-a-Lago personnel and those in Trump’s current inner circle — have been subpoenaed in the investigation over classified documents, CNN reported in March.

The Justice Department has been investigating possible misuse of classified material by Trump for about a year.

Garland designated Smith as special counsel on November 18.

But there are signs that the investigation is being finalized.

A grand jury has heard testimony from dozens of witnesses at the federal courthouse in downtown Washington in recent months.

Walt Nauta, aide to former President Donald Trump, far left on Trump Force One, has spoken to investigators

Special Counsel Jack Smith is leading the Justice Department investigation

Smith is also investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election — the subject of a similar, ongoing investigation by Atlanta prosecutors.

Prosecutors in New York charged Trump earlier this year with falsifying business records.