DOJ Under Trump Drops Appeal in Classified Documents Case Against Co-Defendants
The Department of Justice, under President Trump, has decided to drop the appeal of the classified documents case against his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. This decision effectively ends all criminal proceedings against the two men, who were charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents after he left the White House following his first term.
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The case had been previously dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in July 2024, who ruled that the prosecutor, special counsel Jack Smith, had been illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Although Smith's team had ended its case against Trump after his November election win, citing longstanding department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be indicted, the appeal against the dismissal of charges against Nauta and De Oliveira remained pending until now.The Justice Department's decision to drop the appeal was communicated to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with prosecutors stating, "The United States of America moves to voluntarily dismiss its appeal with prejudice." This means the case cannot be brought back to court again. The government has conferred with counsel for Nauta and De Oliveira, who do not object to the voluntary dismissal.This development follows a series of legal maneuvers and court decisions over the past months, including the blocking of the DOJ from sharing special counsel Jack Smith's final report on the classified documents investigation and the dismissal of Trump from the special counsel's appeal of the case.Overall, the Justice Department's actions signal a resolution to the legal challenges faced by Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case, removing any further legal peril for Nauta and De Oliveira.