According to new reporting this week, scandal-plagued former President Donald Trump — who, let’s face it, is already facing the legal trouble of a lifetime from every conceivable direction, with no end in sight, at this point — apparently decided to completely blow off a scheduled court hearing in connection to DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith’s recent superseding indictment issued against not only the ex-president, but his Mar-a-Lago co-conspirators as well in the sprawling stolen government document case.
But, what was worse even still than his decision to entirely blow off the hearing, was his crackpot excuse for why he didn’t have the decency to show.
Trump was approached by reporters at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey and questioned as to why he didn’t show up to the scheduled hearing on Thursday. According to reporting from Fox News on the matter, the ex-president’s answer was rather simple, yet still completely flabbergasting, all things considered.
“I didn’t feel it was necessary,” the former president told reporters with regard to his lack of an appearance at Thursday’s hearing.
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With regard to the infamous stolen document case, disgraced former President Trump was originally charged by Special Counsel Smith with violations of the Espionage Act as well as multiple charges of obstruction. Smith’s original document case indictment alleges that Trump worked with his body man Walt Nauta to intentionally hide and conceal multiple boxes that contained highly-classified, top-secret government documents that he stole from the White House upon the tumultuous end of his presidency. In addition to the conspiracy to hide the boxes of documents, Trump and Nauta also stand accused of illegally withholding top-secret national defense intel and information — some of which included highly-sensitive military operations and plans and various intel that posed a serious risk to national security — not only from the federal authorities who were seeking the return of these materials, but also from his own attorneys. To make matters worse, the indictment further alleges that Trump was holding and hiding some of the nation’s most sensitive information in unsecured, unguarded storage rooms at his Mar-a-Lago compound.
But it turned out, that first round of charges wasn’t all Jack Smith had tucked up his sleeve. Weeks later, the Special Counsel dropped a bombshell superseding indictment against not only Trump and Nauta, but also Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira. The additional indictment charges the trio with plotting to destroy incriminating Mar-a-Lago security footage that had already been compelled in a federal subpoena by Smith’s office.
Thursday’s court hearing overseen by Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard, which Trump so flippantly ignored, was in regard to Smith’s superseding indictment. Fox confirmed that, while Trump failed to appear at the hearing, Nauta and De Oliveira were both present at Thursday’s court hearing, though the report does note that De Oliveira does not currently have legal counsel in this case.
All three men involved in the superseding indictment have pleaded not guilty to the charges lodged against them.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
