Donald Trump faces new charges in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case
The former US president has once again found himself facing serious legal jeopardy
New charges have been added to the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors have alleged that Trump asked a member of staff to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the federal investigation into his possession of classified documents.
The indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defence information.
Prosecutors also added a third defendant to the case: Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, who they say schemed with Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta, to conceal the footage from investigators.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and a spokesperson dismissed the new charges as "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt" by the Biden administration "to harass President Trump and those around him" and to influence the 2024 presidential race.
Here's the latest on Trump's new charges and where his other legal cases stand.
"What are we going to do?"
The new indictment alleges that Trump demanded security footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate should be deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after he left the White House.
The indictment says that in late June 2022, Mr De Oliveira took another employee to a small room known as an "audio closet" and told the other employee the conversation should remain between the two of them.
Mr De Oliveira asked the employee how many days the server retained surveillance footage and said "the boss" wanted the server deleted.
When the employee said he didn’t believe he was able to do that, Mr De Oliveira insisted the "boss" wanted it done, asking: "What are we going to do?"
The coded language and talk about needing to carry out the boss' wishes is reminiscent of how others, including former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, have described life inside Trump's inner circle.
Once Trump’s fixer, Mr Cohen has likened Trump to a mob boss, who would bully others into doing his bidding but would speak in "code" and never directly tell them to do something wrong.
Mr Cohen, who served time in prison in another special counsel's investigation, testified as a key prosecution witness in the unrelated New York hush-money case against Trump.
What are the latest charges?
The new charges against Trump include an additional count of willfully retaining national defence information related to a presentation about military activity in another country.
Investigators say Trump showed off that document during July 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort with the writer and publisher of the memoir of his former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Details about that document and the meeting were included in the original indictment, but none of the charges had been related to it until now.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...