Global Courant
Of all the federal charges facing former President Donald Trump and his aide Walter Nauta in the investigation into the alleged misuse of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious, according to legal experts.
Claire Finkelstein, the founder and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL), at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that the charges of obstruction in the indictment against Trump and his aide are equally weighty. as the allegations related to keeping the top secret documents, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Finkelstein told ABC News this was not surprising, as the federal government has always taken allegations of interference in any investigation seriously and has often taken the lead in these types of investigations.
The Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Federal Courthouse in Miami, June 12, 2023.
Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images
“You can think of it as the main charges, as protecting the rule of law goes,” she said.
Finkelstein said an obstruction charge can cover a wide range of alleged activities, from as simple as lying to investigators to as large as destroying evidence. But it all boils down to one clear claim, she said: that the accused deliberately interfered with an ongoing criminal investigation.
“(US Code) 1001 lies to investigators. Very, very often you find 1001 charges filed in federal court,” she said.
Vida Johnson, an associate professor at Georgetown University, told ABC News that federal prosecutors will file an obstruction charge if they have evidence that the subject knows is part of an investigation.
“This is kind of a classic kind of crime where people say the cover up is worse than the crime,” she said. “The idea that you would cover it up, that’s something prosecutors are always looking for.”
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention in Greensboro, NC, June 10, 2023.
Chuck Burton/AP
According to the federal indictment, Trump allegedly ordered Nauta, his lawyers and other staff to move boxes of government documents, some of which contained nuclear information and information about other countries, to his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office. The boxes were said to have been kept in disarray in unsecured locations, including a ballroom and bathroom, according to investigators.
After being subpoenaed, according to federal prosecutors, Trump falsely had his lawyers sign an affidavit that all documents had been returned.
Trump, who will face charges in Miami on Tuesday, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and accused federal prosecutors of a political “witch hunt.”
“We have done absolutely nothing wrong. … It is a disgrace what is happening,” he said at a campaign event on Saturday.
Finkelstein noted that obstruction charges can be filed against individuals who are not the main focus of a federal investigation.
“Even if you were a bystander and saw something like documents taken away, if you deliberately lie to investigators, you are liable,” she said.
A photo in the indictment released June 9, 2023 from the Southern District of the U.S. in Florida shows boxes of potentially sensitive documents found at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
DOJ through the Southern District of the US in Florida
Nauta allegedly lied to investigators when he denied knowledge of the location and relocation of the documents before Trump provided them to authorities, even though there was alleged communication between himself, Trump and other staffers about moving the boxes of documents earlier, the indictment said.
Trump has defended Nauta and the aide accompanied the former president at campaign events this weekend.
Finkelstein said prosecutors tend to collect as much evidence as possible to make a strong case before a grand jury and trial jury. Finkelstein said Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team would be very thorough as this is a major investigation involving national security and a former head of state.
Special Counsel Jack Smith addresses reporters on June 9, 2023 in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
Trump’s indictment credentials include conversations in which he allegedly admitted knowing the documents at Mar-a-Lago were classified, texts about the alleged movement of the documents, and witness testimony.
Finkelstein said the government will emphasize that their obstruction case is based on the fundamental idea that no one is above the law.
“If the government can’t correct those fundamental rule of law violations or misdeeds, we’ve damaged a pretty profound part of the rule of law,” Finkelstein said.
