By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department has officially dropped all criminal charges against two co-defendants of former President Trump in the Florida classified documents case, eliminating any legal jeopardy they faced, the Associated Press reports.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago property manager, had been accused of conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation. Prosecutors alleged the men helped the former president conceal classified documents he took from the White House at the end of his first term.
The case against them had been hanging in legal limbo. Though U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the charges in July, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed, prosecutors had continued to appeal. That appeal was formally abandoned on Wednesday, when the Justice Department informed the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it would no longer pursue the case.
“The United States of America moves to voluntarily dismiss its appeal with prejudice,” prosecutors wrote. “The government has conferred with counsel for Appellees Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who do not object to the voluntary dismissal.”
Smith’s team had already dropped its case against Trump in November, following his election victory. The decision aligned with longstanding department policy, which bars indictments against sitting presidents.
One of the last remaining questions is what happens to Smith’s report on the classified documents investigation. The Justice Department had previously refused to release it while proceedings were ongoing against Nauta and De Oliveira. Now, with the case fully closed, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressuring acting Attorney General James McHenry to make the report available. They argue the document is crucial to their review of Kash Patel, whom Trump has nominated to lead the FBI.
Patel, a close Trump ally, testified before the grand jury in 2022 after receiving immunity.
Still, the fate of the report remains uncertain. Trump’s Justice Department is widely expected to keep it under wraps permanently.
