From one court case to another, former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Friday August 5 to the additional charges brought against him in the case of his negligent handling of confidential documents.
On Thursday, the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election already pleaded not guilty in a Washington court in another case: the one for which he is being prosecuted for trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election won by his rival. Joe Biden.
But this time, in the case of classified records, Mr. Trump did not move. In a written notification to the competent court, he said he pleaded not guilty to the new charges against him, and renounced to attend his appearance for the formal presentation of the charges against him scheduled for August 10.
In a court document released on July 27, federal prosecutors accuse him of trying to suppress CCTV footage that was of interest to investigators. Mr. Trump, along with two of his aides, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, is accused of having asked an employee of his luxury Florida residence to “delete CCTV footage from the Mar-a Club”. -Lago to prevent these images from being handed over” to justice.
Accused of compromising the security of the United States
The American billionaire had already pleaded not guilty to the charges for which he was already charged in June in this federal case, which will be tried in May 2024 in Florida. He was hitherto charged with 37 counts, including “unlawfully withholding national security information”, “obstructing justice” and “false testimony” in the case. His two assistants are also being prosecuted.
The former president is accused of having compromised the security of the United States by keeping confidential documents after his departure from the White House in January 2021, including military plans or information on nuclear weapons, in his Florida residence, instead of turning them over to the National Archives as required by law. Another law, on espionage, prohibits keeping state secrets in unauthorized and unsecured places.
