Special counsel Jack Smith investigated a mysterious trip that former President Donald Trump made to Mar-a-Lago in July of 2022, just weeks before the FBI would execute a search warrant to retrieve top-secret government documents he had stashed there.
ABC News reports that the trip raised suspicions among prosecutors because it came shortly after the government issued a subpoena in June of 2022 for Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage that would later be used as evidence that Trump tried to illegally obstruct government efforts to retrieve the documents.
The trip to Mar-a-Lago also appeared suspicious because it came at a time when the club was undergoing serious renovations.
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Added to all that, reports ABC, "At least one witness who worked closely with the former president recalled being told at the time of the trip that Trump was there 'checking on the boxes,'" although this assertion was contradicted by other witnesses who said that Trump went to the resort to check on the status of the resort's renovations.
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Regardless, messages obtained by Smith's team show that Trump aides were keen to keep the visit "secret" for unexplained reasons.
"On July 8, when one Trump Organization employee reached out to [indicted co-conspirator Walt] Nauta wanting to confirm rumors of a Trump visit so proper preparations could be made, Nauta made clear he wanted the trip to remain 'discreet,' reports ABC News. "The sources said Nauta sent a text message to the employee that included emojis with zippers over the mouth, which is often used to convey a secret."
Trump was indicted by Smith last year on charges of unlawfully retaining classified documents, including intelligence reports about a foreign nation's nuclear weapons program, and for trying to obstruct government efforts to retrieve the documents.
