Justice Department drops case against Trump's former co-defendants in classified documents investigation

[LudwigPastorius]

Source: CNN

President Donald Trump's administration is ending the case against his former co-defendants in the classified documents investigation brought by former special counsel Jack Smith.

The Justice Department has stopped pursuing an appeal brought by Smith to revive the criminal charges against Trump's employees. The appeal had also sought to defend the attorney general's ability to appoint special prosecutors -- a long-held authority that Trump's administration has sought to undermine.

Last summer, a federal judge dismissed the case against Walt Nauta, who has served for years as Trump's valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, who worked as a property manager at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

CNN reported earlier this month that Trump was not planning to pardon Nauta and De Oliveira. Sources familiar with the strategy said a pardon would "connote guilt."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/politics/classified-documents-dropped-trump-codefendants/index.html

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This was inevitable once Trump was in office, and not releasing the 2nd part of Jack Smith's report to protect the integrity of these cases was another bullshit move by Merrick Garland.

[gab13by13]

1. Garland must be shocked

Just think if he had dropped those cases many months ago, the American people would know why Trump stole those classified documents.

Garland did a fantastic job protecting the office of the Trump presidency.

[thesquanderer]

2. And poof, there goes any basis for not releasing Jack Smith's second report.

It was pretty obvious that Nauta and De Oiviera were going to end up in the clear one way or another. Even if they'd have gotten convicted, Trump could pardon them. As I posted at the time, the last administration could have effectively done the same thing, and dispensed with any pretext for not having that report released. A lot of good it does now.

[ScratchCat]

3. Think about it for a few minutes

And the most logical conclusion you can come to is the documents Trump had were not actually sensitive documents relevant to current classified data or national security. The "Iran invasion plan" was likely "fake", or at minimum, nothing with any specifics. They didn't give him a real invasion plan.

Because otherwise, Joe Biden let a man walk around for two years knowing he had taken and possessed top level information - all the while having everyone from Chinese spies to foreign nationals at the exact location these documents were - and never had him detained and interrogated for likely espionage. I doubt Joe allowed that. So I conclude he had nothing currently relevant. The obstruction charges were the big ones he and his defendants were stuck with because had he given the shit back to the National Archives the first or second time they asked, he would have never been charged with anything. That's the unfortunate legal crux here" He wasn't going to be charged if he just gave the stuff back.

[gab13by13]

4. You bring back memories of when I watched Groucho Marx on TV

when Groucho said, "who are you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes.

I saw the top secret markings on the documents. Credible reporting stated that Trump stole nuclear military-related top secret documents.

Trump had possession of documents that could only be viewed in a SCIF, and our next FBI Director, Kash Patel helped steal them.

[thesquanderer]

6. I agree, "he wasn't going to be charged if he just gave the stuff back."

Last edited Wed Jan 29, 2025, 02:45 PM - Edit history (1)

But he didn't give them back. As you say, he obstructed. The case should have been prosecuted. Or at least the findings could have been made public, if either Biden (who could have pardoned) or the Justice Department (who could have dropped the case, as this Justice Department has now done) had let the two poor underlings off the hook. And doing so would have been perfectly justifiable on the basis that they were low level workers just doing what the former president of the US had told them to do; and that with Trump as incoming president, there was virtually no chance they were going to face any consequences anyway.

[travelingthrulife]

8. Joe Biden doesn't prosecute people, nor is he a judge?

[pnwmom]

5. The Biden DOJ should have done this, because then they could have released the report.

I don't understand why they didn't.

[Marthe48]

7. Traitors got away with their betrayal

Oh, well, as long as it was their country and not their mob boss, it must be ok.

JFC