Former President Donald Trump has vehemently denied allegations of deleting security tapes from his Mar-A-Lago estate, which have surfaced amid new charges related to the mishandling of classified documents. The former president took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to express his frustration over the accusations, linking the current scandal to past investigations he has faced.
In a series of posts, Trump stated, "MAR-A-LAGO SECURITY TAPES WERE NOT DELETED. THEY WERE VOLUNTARILY HANDED OVER TO THE THUGS, HEADED UP BY DERANGED JACK SMITH. WE DID NOT EVEN GO TO COURT TO STOP THEM FROM GETTING THESE TAPES. I NEVER TOLD ANYBODY TO DELETE THEM. PROSECUTORIAL FICTION & MISCONDUCT! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
Trump's tirade continued as he drew parallels to the "Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX," accusing his accusers of knowingly fabricating false crimes and then attempting to trap him on charges of obstruction. He labeled his adversaries as "sick and evil people."
The latest developments in the case emerged on Thursday when Special Counsel Jack Smith filed three additional charges against Trump. One of these charges accuses him of unlawfully retaining National Defense Information, while the other two allege that Trump and his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, tried to delete the surveillance video footage from Mar-a-Lago.
As the former president finds himself facing these new charges, his reaction has been nothing short of combative. Trump has taken aim at Smith, President Joe Biden, and his political foes, sparing no one in his verbal assault.
The implications of these charges are significant. Trump, a prominent figure in American politics, is once again under scrutiny for his alleged misconduct. The timing of these charges is also noteworthy, coming as the political landscape is already highly polarized, and taking place just before the 2024 Presidential Primaries kick into full gear.
As previously reported, Trump's GOP rival and presidential hopeful, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, recently opened up to the idea of pardoning the former President if he were to take office. In an interview with former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, the Governor said, "I'm gonna do what's right for the country. I don't think it would be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison. It just doesn't seem like it would be a good thing."