House Judiciary Democrats wrote a letter Wednesday demanding the departure US Attorney General Merrick Garland will drop charges against President-elect Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case.
They want Trump’s valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to drop the charges so Garland can release the second volume related to the classified documents case, special counsel Jack Smith reports. Smith resigned from the Ministry of Justice on Friday. Garland said he would not release the second volume because both men still face criminal charges.
Democrats believe Trump will pardon both men, so Garland should drop the charges now or the report won’t come out.
“While we understand your honorable and steadfast adherence to the legal rights of Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira as criminal defendants, the practical effect of this position is that Volume 2 will almost certainly remain hidden for at least another four years unless you release it before the inauguration of President-elect Trump on 20 . January,” reads the letter obtained by Fox News.
TRUMP’S FORMER CO-DEFENDANTS WANT JUDGE TO BLOCK SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S REPORT
Trump drives a golf cart accompanied by assistant Walt Nauta before the start of day three of the LIV Golf Invitational – Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club on August 13, 2023 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
“The public interest, however, now demands that the president-elect must not shirk his responsibility to the American people,” they added. “Accordingly, to the extent that the tangential allegations against Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira stand in the way of the most important imperatives of transparency and truth, the interests of justice demand that their cases be dismissed now so that the full requests of Special Counsel Smith’s report can be released to the American people. “
The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, as well as Democratic committee members Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman of New York; Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, J. Luis Correa, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Zoe Lofgren from California; Hank Johnson and Lucy McBath of Georgia; Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Pramila Jayapal of Washington; Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania; Joseph Neguse of Colorado; Deborah Ross of North Carolina; Becca Balint of Vermont; Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois; and Jasmine Crockett of Missouri.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal assistant, arrives at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. US Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida on August 10, 2023. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
“We clearly do not condone the sycophantic, delinquent and criminal behavior that Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira are accused of,” the letter said. “However, Donald Trump was clearly the mastermind behind this deception operation to conceal and misuse classified material, a fact made clear by the fact that he was indicted on 32 counts of willful withholding of classified documents, while his co-defendants were charged with lesser offenses related to obstruction investigations, mostly at the behest of Mr. Trump under DOJ policy that prohibits indictments or prosecutions of the current president, Mr. Trump has avoided any criminal responsibility for his wrongdoing. Mr. Trump’s victory in 2024 saved him from a public trial and deprived the American people of the meaning and details of his unpatriotic, reckless and deliberate abuse of national security.”
Judge Aileen Cannon will hear arguments on Volume 2 in Fort Pierce, Florida on Thursday. Garland released Volume 1, focusing on the election meddling case, earlier this week.
Lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira earlier this month asked Cannon to keep the special counsel’s report out of the public eye.
Carlos De Oliveira, property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, arrives at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on August 10, 2023. (EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiring to obstruct an FBI investigation into classified documents found in Mar-a-Lago.
Garland wiretapped Smith in 2022 to investigate alleged attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence.
It is customary for a special prosecutor to release a final report when they have completed their work, outlining the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or dismissal decisions they have made as a result of the investigation. It’s up to Garland to make it public. In Smith’s case, the prosecutor’s decision is irrelevant, given Trump’s status as president-elect and longstanding Justice Department policy against filing criminal charges against the current president.
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Garland is expected to deliver his farewell speech at the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon.
