Trump classified docs witness strikes to deal with special counsel to avoid charges

The director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago has agreed to cooperate 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 mishandling of classified documents, a new court filing shows. 

The witness — described in a Justice Department court filing dated Tuesday as “Trump Employee 4” and identified by several media outlets as Yuscil Taveras — had previously recanted “false testimony” in the classified documents case, after switching lawyers and learning that he had left himself exposed to possible perjury charges. 

The special counsel’s office “immediately offered Trump Employee 4 a Non-Prosecution Agreement,” after he changed lawyers, his former defense attorney Stanley Woodward wrote in the court filing.

“Represented by [First Assistant Federal Public Defender], [Trump Employee 4] then entered into a cooperation agreement with the government and testified before the grand jury in the Southern District of Florida on July 20, 2023,” the filing states.

Taveras provided Smith’s team with incriminating information that led to a July superseding indictment against 77-year-old former president related to his alleged efforts to delete surveillance camera footage taken at Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., club and residence, prosecutors have said.

Trump was charged with altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object and corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a document, record, or other object in connection with his purported order to wipe the surveillance server.

He was additionally charged for his alleged retention of an Iran attack plan document. 

Taveras flipped after prosecutors raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest between him and Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta, who were both being represented by Woodward before the IT director struck his cooperation agreement with Smith. 

Woodward charges that Smith’s office sought to “undermine attorney-client relationships” and he argues that “the Court should preclude Trump Employee 4 from testifying at a trial in this matter.”

Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira were also hit with new charges in the July superseding 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.

A trial has been set for May 20, 2024, in a Miami courtroom.