Former President Donald Trump, in an interview with NBC News anchor Kristen Welker for Meet the Press, vehemently denied the new charges against him related to allegations that he attempted to destroy evidence in an Espionage Act case. Special Counsel Jack Smith had filed three additional charges against Trump, including one count of unlawful retention of National Defense Information and two obstruction counts based on claims that Trump and co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira tried to delete surveillance video footage at The Mar-a-Lago Club in the summer of 2022.
During the interview, Welker asked Trump about the new charge related to Mar-a-Lago, suggesting that he asked a staffer to delete security camera footage to prevent it from falling into the hands of investigators. Trump responded by vehemently denying the accusation and called it “false.” Welker then asked if he would testify to that under oath, to which Trump agreed, saying he would.
Trump continued to criticize Special Counsel Jack Smith, describing him as a “deranged lunatic prosecutor” who had lost in the Supreme Court nine to nothing. Trump asserted that the charge was “fake” and claimed that the surveillance tapes in question had not been deleted. He argued that since the tapes belonged to him, he could have fought the request to turn them over and believed he would have won in court. Trump also emphasized that the tapes were not deleted, and he had offered them willingly to investigators.
The interview with Trump highlights his strong denial of the charges and his willingness to testify under oath regarding the matter. It also underscores the ongoing legal challenges and controversies surrounding Trump even after his presidency.
KRISTEN WELKER: I want to ask you about the case related to Mar-a-Lago. A new charge suggests you asked a staffer to delete security camera footage so it wouldn’t get into the hands of investigators.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP: That’s false.
KRISTEN WELKER: Did you do that? It’s false?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP: False. But let me tell you what else.
KRISTEN WELKER: Would you testify to that under oath?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Let me tell – sure, I’m going to – I’ll testify –
KRISTEN WELKER: You’d testify to that under oath?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Look, It’s a fake charge by this deranged lunatic prosecutor who lost in the Supreme Court nine to nothing, and he tried to destroy lots of lives. He’s a lunatic. So it’s a fake charge. But more importantly, the tapes weren’t deleted. In other words, there was nothing done to them. And, they were my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them the tapes, I don’t think. I think I would have won in court. When they asked for the tapes, I said, “Sure.” They’re my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them. Just so you understand, though, we didn’t delete anything. Nothing was deleted.
KRISTEN WELKER: So that’s false. The people who testified –
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Number one, the statement is false. Much more importantly, when the tapes came, and everybody says this, they weren’t deleted. We give them 100%.
KRISTEN WELKER: Okay, let’s –
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP: And just so you know, I offered them. I said if you want to look at tapes, you can look at them.
