Trump has kept witness strikes of documents secret to deal with a special counsel and avoid indictments
The Director of Information Technology at Mar-a-Lago has agreed to work with Special Counsel Jack Smith in a deal that will allow him to avoid criminal charges in the federal case over former President Donald Trump’s alleged misuse of confidential documents, a new court record indicates.
The witness – described in a Justice Department court filing Tuesday as “Trump Employee 4” and identified by multiple media outlets as Yuscil Taveras – had previously recanted a “false testimony” in the classified documents case after switching attorneys and learning that he had left himself facing possible perjury charges.
The special counsel’s office “immediately offered Trump Associate 4 a non-prosecution agreement” after he switched attorneys, his former defense attorney Stanley Woodward wrote in the paper court records.
“Represented by [First Assistant Federal Public Defender], [Trump Employee 4] He then entered into a cooperative agreement with the government and testified before the grand jury in the South District of Florida on July 20, 2023,” the filing reads.
Taveras provided Smith’s team with incriminating information that led to a substitute charge against the 77-year-old former president in July related to his alleged efforts to delete security camera footage taken at Trump’s club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida , according to the public prosecutor.
Trump has been charged with altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object and corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or hiding a document, record, or other object in connection with his alleged order to delete the surveillance server.
He was also accused of allegedly withholding a document detailing a plan to attack Iran.
Taveras turned around after prosecutors raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest between him and Trump’s co-defendant Walt Nauta, both of whom were represented by Woodward before the IT director finalized his cooperation agreement with Smith.
Woodward accuses Smith’s office of “undermining attorney-client relations” and argues that “the court should disqualify Trump employee 4 from testifying in a trial on this matter.”
Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira also faced new charges in July’s substitute indictment based on Taveras’ testimony.
The former president has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the case and has pleaded not guilty to all charges, as have de Oliveira and Nauta.
The trial is scheduled for May 20, 2024 in a Miami courtroom.
