Federal prosecutors in the office of special counsel Jack Smith revealed on court filings on Friday (Jan. 12) that they intended to summon at least five FBI employees with expertise in digital forensics as witnesses in their case alleging former US President Donald Trump's mishandled classified documents.
According to Smith's office, the witnesses - described as experts in digital forensics or cellular analytics - would be expected to testify about the data and material extracted from devices and accounts belonging to Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, and an unnamed "Trump Employee 2," all of whom were accused of crimes alongside Trump.
Potential Witnesses to Explain Documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Manor
It could be recalled that Trump was indicted in June 2023 on criminal charges related to classified documents discovered in 2022 at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Another superseding indictment was also filed against Trump, alleging that he was part of a plan to delete security video.
Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira have all pleaded not guilty in the case, NBC News reported.
The special counsel's office plans to use expert testimony to discuss the events of June 27, 2022, Friday's filing said, as well as content extracted from devices used by De Oliveira and Nauta. The case was scheduled to go to trial by May, with Trump attorneys notifying the court on Friday that they planned to file multiple motions next week to compel discovery from the special counsel's office.
Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, declined to comment on the filing.
