A Clear and Persistent Danger: What Secrets Would Donald Trump Sell?
Trump’s latest indictments raises his felonies to 42 charges for stealing classified information. Who would pay him for America's secrets?
Documents Stolen by Donald Trump seized by the FBI (Photo: US Dept of Justice)
A new superseding indictment against Donald Trump, his co-conspirator former Navy cook, turned personal valet Waltine (aka Walt) Nauta. Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman wrote about Nauta’s fierce loyalty to Trump. Nauta lied to the FBI about moving classified documents even though Mara Lago was rife with security cameras. After lying to the agents, Nauta was then tasked by Trump to do something about those very cameras. But there is a twist – Trump ordered him to delete all of Mara Lago’s video surveillance from the server so their efforts to hide the secrets could not be discovered.
To effect this crime, Nauta worked with a new player in Trump’s Mara Lago henchman team, Carlos De Oliveira, the supervisor of maintenance at the resort. De Oliveira was already involved in some shady activities that the indictment brings into focus. With Nauta, he moved 30 boxes of classified documents in the shell game to keep them away from the FBI. He also loaded trucks with classified documents so Trump would bring them with him to his Bedminster New Jersey resort.
The superseding indictment spells out a deep conspiracy between Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira, acting out of sight of lawyers and other staff, where they made up plots to destroy security camera footage of the documents being hidden. A fourth employee, the information technology director at the resort was directed by Nauta and De Oliveira to destroy all security footage of the documents being hidden.
For example, in October 2022 the pool at the resort was drained and somehow flooded the room with the security camera servers. At the time many in the media considered it an accident that liberals wanted to turn into a conspiracy … now we know it is likely part of the conspiracy to destroy the servers. Without the raw footage, Trump could argue whatever the FBI had in their possession was fabricated. De Oliveira was the person who drained the pool into the security server room.
Why did Oliveira put his life and career in question? We know the two henchmen will eventually get the maximum punishment. Flunkies always get the full application of the law. But Trump himself, being shielded by the entire Republican party and armed voters, could escape all but the mildest punishment due to his stature.
Whatever was going on in Trump’s head related to these documents, he saw Nauta and De Oliveira as loyal henchmen worthy of Macbeth. I have little doubt they would have broken many more laws if directed.
So why did Trump keep these documents? Until he testifies before a grand jury or is forced to respond honestly, we can only conject what he would do. Not even Special Counsel Jack Smith will know how the screwy behavior operates in the corrupt brain of a blazing narcissist. From what we know of Donald he likely played a Trumpian version of the Kiss-Marry-Kill game. I call it Brag-Frame-Sell.