Donald Trump case witness reveals attempt to delete Mar-a-Lago footage after facing perjury charges

A witness in special counsel Jack Smith’s case against former U.S. President Donald Trump has changed his testimony after facing possible perjury charges and switching lawyers, prosecutors say.

The witness, who is the director of information technology at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla., is referred to as “Trump Employee 4” in a Justice Department court filing on Tuesday.

Several media outlets have identified him as Yuscil Taveras. He has given prosecutors information about alleged attempts to delete security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago.

The DOJ’s court filing says that Taveras “repeatedly denied or claimed not to recall any contacts or conversations about the security footage at Mar-a-Lago” when he testified before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., in March 2023.

Taveras received a target letter 12 days after Trump was indicted in the case, informing him that he had “criminal exposure” to perjury charges. The government says this was “entirely due to his false sworn denial before the grand jury.”

Taveras also learned that his lawyer, Stanley Woodward, might have a conflict of interest in the case because he also represented Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta.

“The target letter to Trump Employee 4 crystallized a conflict of interest arising from Mr. Woodward’s concurrent representation of Trump Employee 4 and Nauta,” the filing said.

“Advising Trump Employee 4 to correct his sworn testimony would result in testimony incriminating Mr. Woodward’s other client, Nauta; but permitting Trump Employee 4’s false testimony to stand uncorrected would leave Trump Employee 4 exposed to criminal charges for perjury,” the filing explained.

“Moreover, an attorney for Trump had put Trump Employee 4 in contact with Mr. Woodward, and his fees were being paid by Trump’s political action committee (PAC).”

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In July, after replacing Woodward with a public defender, Taveras recanted his previous grand jury testimony and “provided information that implicated Nauta, [Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos] De Oliveira, and Trump in efforts to delete security camera footage.”

Taveras’ new testimony led to a superseding indictment and new charges against Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira in July. The former president has strongly denied any wrongdoing in the case.

A trial has been scheduled for May 20, 2024, in a Miami courtroom.

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