In the bluntest language possible, the prosecution explained how dangerous it was.
« Unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could jeopardize U.S. national security, foreign relations, the security of U.S. military and human sources, and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence gathering methods, » it said. the indictment said.
While the strength of Mr. Smith’s case will ultimately be tested by Mr. Trump’s attorneys, the evidence gathered by the special counsel and his team was plentiful and varied. The indictment included photographs, a transcript of a recording by Mr. Trump, and, of course, the attorney’s notes, which were obtained through a highly unusual legal tactic of circumventing attorney-client privilege.
All of this taken together offered an intimate glimpse into Trump’s world at Mar-a-Lago, a domain where he has seemingly enforced a sense of personal control.
In one prosecution anecdote, two Mar-a-Lago employees are described as exchanging text messages about Mr. Trump asking Walt Nauta, one of his close associates, to move boxes of government documents from a mall in the property so that other workers could use it as an office. Mr. Nauta has been accused of conspiring with Mr. Trump to obstruct justice in the case.
« Ok, » the indictment quotes one employee writing to the other, « so Potus specifically asked Walt that those boxes be in the business center because they’re his ‘papers.' »
Similarly, the indictment describes Mr. Trump as attempting to thwart both prosecutors who issued him a subpoena for all the classified material he had and the lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, whom he had hired specifically to help him comply with that subpoena.
« I don’t want anyone looking through my boxes, I really don’t, » quotes Mr. Trump telling Mr. Corcoran. « I don’t want you to look through my boxes. »
