‘OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE’

At some point after the May 23 meeting, prosecutors say, Trump later directed Nauta to move 64 boxes from the storage room to his private residence. On June 1, one of Trump’s attorneys reminded him that they were coming the next day to review the boxes and ensure that the former president had complied with the May 11 subpoena.

The next day, before the attorney arrived, Trump called Nauta. About three hours later, the aide and another Mar-a-Lago employee moved about 30 boxes from Trump’s residence back to the storage room. Prosecutors said the FBI later observed the box movement on surveillance footage. That afternoon, when Trump’s attorney arrived to go through the material, Nauta led them only to the storage room to retrieve the classified documents, not to the residence.

On June 3, Trump’s legal team certified to the Department of Justice and FBI that a “diligent search” had been conducted and turned over another 38 classified documents, with the former president telling officials he was “an open book,” according to prosecutors. The same day, Nauta had moved boxes to Trump Force One for a flight north, which was also caught on surveillance cameras.

The FBI then returned to Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, with a search warrant, seizing 102 classified documents.

Trump faces a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Nauta faces a maximum of 90 years imprisonment upon conviction.