Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee urge Attorney General Merrick G. Garland to drop federal charges against Donald Trump’s former co defendants in the classified document case, Walt Nauta & Carlos de Oliveira. This will allow the Justice Department to release the remainder of Jack Smith’s report regarding Trump’s alleged criminal activities.
Nauta is an aide of Trump and de Oliveira is a former manager of Mar-a-Lago. They are accused of obstructing investigations into Trump’s handling sensitive government documents, after he lost his reelection bid in 2020. Both have pleaded guilty.
Garland had previously stated that he would not release the second part, which details allegations in the documents cases, as the proceedings against Nauta & de Oliveira are ongoing.
In a Thursday morning letter to Garland, Democrats on the committee, including Maryland’s Jamie Raskin, and New York Rep. Dan Goldman, said that the public needed to see the other half of Smith’s findings.
In the letter, they write:
The American people deserve to be able to read Volume 2 Special Counsel Smith’s Report, which explains that President Trump deliberately hid hundreds of presidential and classified records in his Mar-a-Lago Club, then defied subpoenas and law enforcement officials, concealed evidence and lied about the continued retention of these documents. The people of America have a right of access to Justice Department reports on special counsels. This is essential for the rule of law and the American democracy. It is your duty as Attorney General to take the necessary steps to release the report before the end of the term. This includes, if needed, dismissing any remaining criminal charges against Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira, Mr. Trump’s accomplices.
Garland published the first volume of Smith’s findings on Tuesday. It covered allegations that Trump conspired to upset the 2020 election.
Trump attacked the report, and Smith in particular, calling him “deranged”, and “a lamebrain prosecution who was unable get his case heard before the Election which I won by a wide margin.”
After he won the presidential election in 2024, the charges against Trump were dropped . The case of the document was also dismissed by a Florida federal judge last summer.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
Nauta de Oliveira, and Trump tried to block Smith’s report in the case of the classified documents. This was done during the criminal proceedings against Nauta de Oliveira.
In the letter, the committee Democrats said that “to the extent that such an action to dismiss these cases could encourage these defendants in continuing to enable the corruption of their higher-ups, these concerns are overweighed by the numerous indications that, upon taking office, Mr. Trump would simply end prosecutions against his conspirators and then instruct his DOJ permanently to bury this document.” Mr. Trump’s plans to weaponize DOJ in order to suit his personal preferences and whims are not a secret.
