Two aides of former President Donald Trump moved boxes of papers a day before federal officials went to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and private club to retrieve classified documents, according to multiple news reports.
The employee, who has not been publicly identified, saw Trump’s White House valet Walt Nauta move boxes to a storage unit, The New York Times reported, citing an unidentified source. The worker eventually helped Nauta move some boxes, but he didn’t know what was inside.
The maintenance worker notified federal prosecutors of the moment, according to the Times.
It would have come before Justice Department senior attorney Jay Bratt went to Mar-a-Lago with federal agents in June 2022. FBI agents obtained a court order to also search Mar-a-Lago months later in a highly publicized incident.
Trump and aides also had a “dress rehearsal” for moving sensitive documents before his office received a subpoena last May, the Washington Post reported, citing multiple unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Prosecutors are also investigating whether Trump kept classified documents in his office and sometimes showed them to others, the Post said.
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The reports come as Trump’s lawyers seek a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the Justice Department’s investigation of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. It is often a sign that an indictment is imminent.
The grand jury in the investigation has not convened since May 5, the longest break since December, according to the Washington Post. That hiatus came after Garland appointed Jack Smith to oversee the Trump investigation.
Smith investigates whether the former president mishandled classified documents and whether he obstructed justice by defying a subpoena to return documents he took from the White House.
Trump denies wrongdoing in the case.
His spokesman, Steven Cheung, told USA TODAY in a statement: “This is nothing more than a targeted, politically motivated witch hunt against President Trump designed to interfere in elections and prevent the American people from sending him back to the White House. .” accusing the Justice Department of harassing “anyone who works, has worked, or supports President Trump.”
Contributors: David Jackson and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump workers at Mar-a-Lago reportedly moved documents a day before FBI visit
