(NewsNation) — The addition of a third defendant to the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump is a notable development, a former spokesperson for the Department of Justice said.
“The most important part to me is that they’ve actually added someone else to these charges. That means potentially we have other cooperating witnesses,” attorney and former DOJ spokesperson Sarah Isgur told NewsNation host Dan Abrams.
The updated federal indictment against Trump that accuses him of mishandling classified documents names Carlos De Oliveira as the third defendant.
De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, is facing charges of obstruction and lying to the FBI. Trump now faces an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two new obstruction counts. He is accused of asking a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete security footage that showed boxes being moved around the property.
Isgur thinks the new indictment is telling and shows possible cooperation from other people potentially involved.
“It means there’s someone else who can become part of this, either joint defense or turn state’s evidence. So that’s really where I was focused on — the idea of adding another defendant at this point,” Isgur told Abrams.
Prior to the unsealing of the updated indictment Thursday, Trump and aide Walt Nauta were previously charged with retaining defense records and obstructing the FBI’s investigation. Nauta also faces additional obstruction counts.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and maintains his innocence. A May 2024 trial date has been set.