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Trump Documents Trial May Put Resort Workers On Witness Stand, Sources Say
TRUMP TRIAL: According to multiple people familiar with the investigation, federal prosecutors may call Mar-a-Lago staffers and contract workers to testify against former President Donald Trump and his two co-defendants at their upcoming criminal trial in Florida.
CNN has compiled a detailed picture of how prosecutors are building their case against Trump for mishandling secret documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago.
While some witnesses who may be called to testify are from Trump’s inner circle, including his business career, political campaign, and time in the White House, other potential witnesses, according to the sources, are the types of workers whom Mar-a-Lago’s wealthy guests rarely notice.
According to the sources, other likely witnesses include:
- Trump Secret Service agents.
- Former intelligence officials.
- Others were in the room with Trump when he was heard on multiple audio recordings referring to a military document regarding potential preparations to destroy Iran.
However, if summoned to testify, the low-level personnel who were the eyes and ears of Mar-a-Lago might provide the public with new insights into the elite club and Trump’s approach to sensitive national security intelligence after leaving office. Some are still working at Mar-a-Lago.
Following the publication of this report, Trump commented on social media, confirming that several people saw papers and boxes at Mar-a-Lago.
“Of course they did!” says the author. They could be the boxes and other items openly and visibly brought from the White House, as is my right under the Presidential Records Act.”
The Presidential Records Act states unequivocally that White House records about government activity are public property and must be handed to the National Archives when the president and vice president leave office.
Trump Documents Trial May Put Resort Workers On Witness Stand, Sources SayTrump Documents Trial May Put Resort Workers On Witness Stand, Sources Say
The trial is scheduled to begin in May in Florida, far before the 2024 presidential election. However, Aileen Cannon, the federal judge presiding over the case, is considering postponing the trial until after the election, thus hiding details about Trump’s behavior until voters go to the polls.
Overall, prosecutors might use these witnesses to demonstrate to a jury the free-wheeling environment that Trump presided over after leaving the White House. The possible witnesses have already provided detailed information to federal investigators regarding the level of security at the Mar-a-Lago resort, including how boxes of documents were stored and if they were visible or accessible to visitors.
The special counsel’s office declined to comment for this article. Trump’s spokespeople waited to react to CNN’s request for comment.
Some witnesses told investigators that what they observed at Mar-a-Lago piqued their interest and appeared strange, out of place, or potentially suspicious.
According to three sources who spoke with CNN about what he told investigators, a woodworker from South Florida put crown molding in Trump’s bedroom in February 2022 and saw documents. While the stack of papers he saw was classified, the craftsman wasn’t sure what he had seen strewn about the site.
Trump Documents Trial May Put Resort Workers On Witness Stand, Sources SayTrump Documents Trial May Put Resort Workers On Witness Stand, Sources Say
“He thinks he saw things, doesn’t know what they were – he eventually told investigators he thought what he saw may have been a movie prop,” a source involved with the investigation said.
According to the sources, prospective witnesses include:
- A maid who cleaned Trump’s suite.
- A plumber who has worked at the property several days a week for years.
- Numerous other maintenance workers.
According to sources acquainted with the inquiry, some workers may not be called as witnesses by prosecutors trying the case and may not have even spotted boxes or documents around the property.
Nonetheless, prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith stated in their June indictment of Trump that lax security once visitors entered the Mar-a-Lago compound is an issue they expect to bring up in front of a jury.
According to the indictment, “Mar-a-Lago was an active social club that hosted events for tens of thousands of members and guests between January 2021 and August 2022,” including movie premieres, weddings, and fundraisers.
According to one source, police questioned a driver about wealthy businesspeople, including foreigners, who had visited the club as VIP guests. The chauffeur, for example, detailed transporting Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who could be summoned as a witness.
Pratt paid Trump a visit at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office, and the former president revealed secret information about US nuclear submarines with Pratt, according to two people. ABC News previously reported on this detail. This is not one of the incidents in which Trump has been charged with mishandling national security material.
CNN has contacted Pratt’s representative.
A bustling nightclub
Prosecutors claimed in their June indictment that Mar-a-Lago had 25 guest rooms, two ballrooms, a spa, a gift shop, offices, pool, and fitness facilities. More than 150 employees, ranging from temporary to full-time, milled about.
Witness evidence at the trial is sure to bring that scenario to life.
Prosecutors claim that after January 2021, the club was no longer a place where sensitive materials could be legitimately stored, owned, read, displayed, or discussed, making the presence of those without security clearances a risk to national security.
Trump is accused of mishandling 32 national security records, the majority of which are classified, that he maintained after leaving office, primarily in boxes at Mar-a-Lago. He is also accused of conspiring with his co-defendants – Walt Nauta, his bodyguard, and Carlos De Oliveira, the club’s valet turned property manager – to conceal part of the boxes from the federal government and destroy security footage of the boxes being transported.
Prosecutors have publicly mentioned a few potential witnesses in recent court sessions, including a receptionist at the club, the head of maintenance, and a personal aide to Trump.
The social network of Mar-a-Lago
Some of the persons named by CNN as possible witnesses are long-term Trump property employees who live in South Florida and learned about the Trump staff’ concentration on attempting to remove the security film through word-of-mouth.
Many past and present club employees are still in regular communication, and they relayed word about the FBI search of the resort in August 2022 to one another. Previously, federal agents had approached several of them for preliminary interviews. Some of them agreed to extra interviews with prosecutors and testified in front of a grand jury.
Jim Trusty, an attorney who stopped representing the former president in the documents case after Trump was indicted, told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” Thursday that the Justice Department and the FBI “aggressively” intimidated a lot of “salt of the earth, good people, hard-working people down in the Mar-a-Lago scene.”
“It’s the kind of thing where, Kaitlan, you could drive by Mar-a-Lago, go to the beach and get a subpoena,” Trusty told me.
The federal investigation into the Mar-a-Lago payroll enraged the former president, who spends his winters in Florida and frequently poses for photos with club guests. When the maid who cleans Trump’s bedroom suite was requested to talk with investigators, for example, Trump’s answer was “ballistic,” according to a CNN source.
According to two people who talked to CNN, one important witness, Yuscil Taveras, only recently left his position as the club’s director of IT as the start of South Florida’s winter season approached. Taveras is designated in the indictment as “Trump Employee 4,” and it was publicly stated that prosecutors offered him a favorable deal in exchange for his cooperation.
However, Trump had no idea Taveras had remained to work at the club after his divorce from a Trump-provided lawyer this summer, and the former president was upset to learn of his ongoing employment, according to the sources.
Taveras’ attorney declined to comment.
SOURCE – (CNN)
Kate Middleton updated her first project since her cancer diagnosis. The Princess of Wales, 42, announced her treatment in an emotional speech in March. After London abdominal surgery, the Express says she has taken time off public duty.
Kate stated in her address that pre-operative testing after surgery revealed her non-cancerous condition. For Mental Health Week, the Prince and Princess of Wales posted a short film trailer on their social media accounts.
The film emphasizes Britain’s farmers’ mental health issues and is her first project update since diagnosis.
Kate Middleton tweeted: “We’ve teamed up with Sam Stables from We Are Farming Minds and Farmer Will for a special film for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.
A conversation for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek showing just how important the Duchy of Cornwall’s Mental Health Strategy is. Featuring Duchy tenant Sam Stables and Farmer Will Young.
TW: Suicide | https://t.co/YTwfDghRWq pic.twitter.com/JAOPXzG8dP
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 17, 2024
“Spending a day together on Sam’s farm in Hereford they chatted about mental health in the farming community, finding support and the Duchy of Cornwall’s Mental Health Strategy.”
Although Kate doesn’t appear in the YouTube video, she and Prince William produced it. Before Kate’s illness, GB News reported that the project was underway. One fan thanked Kate and William for raising mental health awareness in the video comments.
Says: “Can’t even begin to say how much I love the awareness HRH The Prince and Princess of Wales brings to the issues surrounding mental health.”
Another said: “I love that you’re focusing on rural mental health! Well done.”
Prince William said Kate “doing well” – Getty Images
Prince William ” Kate Middleton is doing well”
When asked about his wife Kate Middleton during a royal engagement on Friday, Prince William replied she is “doing well.”
The Prince of Wales went to St. Mary’s Community Hospital on the Isles of Scilly in southwest England. Tracy Smith, an administrator at the hospital, offered the king a tour of the facilities. “May I ask how Princess Kate is doing?” she responded. To which William replied that Kate is “doing well.” When questioned about his children (George, Charlotte, and Louis), William remarked, “The children are very jealous that I am here…” Perhaps we can come later in the year.”
The rare news comes after the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton revealed in a video message that she had been diagnosed with cancer following a scheduled abdominal operation. Kate stated in a video posted by Kensington Palace on March 22 that the news was a “huge shock.” She started “preventative chemotherapy” in late February, according to a Kensington Palace official.
“I am well and getting stronger every day,” Kate stated in the video message.
During the royal visit on Friday, hospital matron Lynda McHale presented Prince William with a card for his wife and father, King Charles III, who revealed his own diagnosis of an unidentified type of cancer in February and officially resumed public duties in late April.
GENEVA – On Monday, the Paralympic Games begin their 100-day journey to the opening ceremony in Paris in August, with Paul McCartney assisting.
The former Beatles’ “We All Stand Together” — the theme song from an award-winning animated short he created and produced 40 years ago — will be featured in a promotional film for the International Paralympic Committee
“Sir Paul really understands what we stand for as a movement, and he was extremely generous to us,” IPC president Andrew Parsons told The Associated Press. “He was not difficult to convince, it was something that came very naturally.”
AP – VOR News Image
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
On August 28, 100 days from Monday, the Summer Paralympics opening ceremony will occur along a stretch of the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde. Over the next 11 days, the 4,400 athletes will compete in places such as the Eiffel Tower and Versailles Palace in front of up to 2.7 million spectators.
“We probably have the most famous avenue in the world,” Parsons stated in a recent interview. “That is very exciting. The city is really supporting Paralympic athletes and athletes with impairments.”
“With our games, we talk a lot about inclusion, and this is a fantastic representation of that. That extremely inviting attitude is a great way to start our games.
A watershed moment for the Paralympic movement occurred in London in 2012 when the host country rose to the occasion with record ticket sales and a completely new approach to broadcasting by Britain’s Channel 4.
“Still the benchmark games of our movement,” added Parsons, whose native country of Brazil staged the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro.
AP – VOR new Image
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
Channel 4 produced the “We’re the Superhumans” musical film to promote the Rio Paralympics. The film was a landmark in terms of its high production values and inspirational imagery.
“Many broadcasters come to us in their preparations in different parts of the world and they normally ask, ‘What is Channel 4 doing?'” Parsons stated. In that vein, the IPC trailer, inspired by McCartney’s “Rupert and the Frog Song” film, follows suit.
The Paris Paralympics will record 164 broadcasters worldwide, with 549 events across 22 sports.
Beyond the field of play, the Paralympics strive to change society, particularly in the host nation—and have previously achieved this.
In France and Paris, Parsons admitted that “there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to people’s mindsets and perceptions of people with disabilities.”
“It has progressed since they received the games in 2017, but there is still a long way to go. “And it does not end with the closing ceremony.”
Two weeks after the Paralympics end on September 8, the United Nations conducts a global gathering that Parsons hopes will spark change.
AP – VOR News Image
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
The UN will assess progress toward its 17 sustainable development objectives during the Summit of the Future, which will occur on September 22 and 23.
“We do believe our movement has, in terms of persons of disability, been a little bit left behind, if you compare to other human rights movements such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity,” Parsons stated. “They have become increasingly prominent in the major debates at the highest level.
“We believe that these (Paris) games will be able to really remind global leaders that there is 1.2 billion persons with disabilities out there that need to be included in those conversations.”
SOURCE – (AP)
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Sean “Diddy” Combs will not face charges in connection with a 2016 video that appears to show him abusing then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel.
“We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the office of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón posted on Instagram Friday (May 17). “If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
Combs appears to push Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her multiple times while she is on the ground, and pull her down a hallway in the footage, which CNN received on March 5, 2016.
According to the statement, law enforcement has not presented the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office with “a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
The video’s contents resemble an assault complaint Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit against Diddy in November, in which she also claimed one incidence of rape and another of Combs forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated.
“The gut-wrenching video has only confirmed Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Ventura and Combs had an on-and-off romance for 11 years until splitting in 2018. In the lawsuit, she claimed she met Combs in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing with his Bad Boy Records company, Ventura alleged that Combs “lured” her into a sexual relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.
Combs has faced four further sexual misconduct complaints after Ventura filed hers late last year. The entrepreneur resigned as chairman of his digital media business Revolt in November, and he reportedly sold his interest in the company in March. Also in March, federal officials raided Combs’ houses in Los Angeles and Miami “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking probe, CNN reported.
Combs has flatly denied all allegations of sexual assault leveled against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he declared in a statement shared on social media on December 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs
Sean “Diddy” Combs is a multi-talented mogul who has made his mark in music, fashion, and business. Born in Harlem, he began his career as a talent director at Uptown Records. Combs later created his own label, Bad Boy Records, which launched the careers of musicians such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige.
His debut album, “No Way Out,” achieved multi-platinum success, cementing his reputation as a rapper and producer. Diddy expanded his business interests, launching the apparel line Sean John and investing in beverage businesses such as Ciroc and DeLeon. With an estimated net worth of $900 million, he is one of hip-hop’s wealthiest individuals.
Combs is a presence in Hollywood, appearing in films and television series while also influencing music and society. His commercial savvy, paired with his musical talents, have elevated him to the status of rap icon.
Source: Billboard
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