A Donald Trump employee who was subpoenaed as a witness in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial has been implicated after switching lawyers, according to court filings, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Yucel Taveras, an IT director referred to in court documents as “Trump Employee 4,” changed his testimony after switching attorneys, according to JEE News report.
Prosecutors say Tavares now accuses Trump and two of his allies of “attempting to delete security camera footage,” while the 77-year-old faces 40 charges in the case.
Trump, his adviser Walt Nota, and Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos D’Oliveira tried to cover up the mishandling of classified documents and the erasure of security footage at the Mar-a-Lago residence. have entered not guilty pleas in relation to JEE News reported.
Taveras, whose former attorney also represents Trump’s co-defendant Nota, switched lawyers after being warned by Jack Smith, the special counsel in charge of the case, that he was being investigated for lying. .
During grand jury testimony in March of this year, Taveras “repeatedly denied or claimed to have missed any communications or conversations about security footage at Mar-a-Lago”.
Prosecutors claimed they had evidence to prove that de Oliveira had instructed Tavares to remove CCTV footage as he followed the movement of boxes carrying documents inside the resort.
When prosecutors uncovered a conflict of interest with Taveras’ attorney, Stanley Woodward, who was receiving financial support from Trump’s Save America political action organization, Chief Judge James Bosberg, who is in charge of the federal grand jury, publicly indicted Taveras. Provided security services. .
The filing states: “Advising Trump Employee 4 to correct his sworn testimony would result in the conviction of Woodward’s second client, Nota; but allowing Trump Employee 4’s perjury to be uncorrected.” Giving Trump employees 4 will face criminal charges of perjury.”
Taveras informed Chief Judge Boasberg on July 5 that he would accept the offer of legal aid and no longer wished to be represented by Woodward.
“Soon after obtaining a new lawyer, Trump Employee 4 retracted his earlier perjury and provided information implicating Nota, [Carlos] de Oliveira, and Trump in efforts to delete security camera footage. was, as stated in the violation of the suit”. says that.
While Tavares has not been charged in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial next May, Trump faces criminal charges in three other cases involving the 2021 presidential election after Joe Biden won the election. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election include.
Additionally, Trump also faced a trial in New York in March 2024 for paying hush money to a porn star to cheat campaign finance laws before the 2016 election.
