On Thursday, The New York Times quintuple-teamed the Mar-a-Lago document story. And very effectively, I might add. One of the things we learned is that somebody Who Knows Things has been singing a lovely aria to special counsel Jack Smith and his investigators.
The existence of an insider witness, whose identity has not been disclosed, could be a significant step in the investigation, which is being overseen by Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. The witness is said to have provided investigators with a picture of the storage room where the material had been held. Little else is known about what prosecutors might have learned from the witness or when the witness first began to provide information to the prosecutors.
Wait. Is this source Walt Nauta, the former president*'s valet and factotum whose name has popped up on several occasions since the document story broke? No, it seems it's somebody else, which may mean that Walt needs to watch his back, too.
But prosecutors appear to be trying to fill in some gaps in their knowledge about the movement of the boxes, created in part by their handling of another potentially key witness, Mr. Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta. Prosecutors believe Mr. Nauta has failed to provide them with a full and accurate account of his role in any movement of boxes containing the classified documents.
Uh-oh. Low bridge, Walt.
There are a whole lot of very delicious and very chewy nuggets in this latest candy box.
Prosecutors have also issued several subpoenas to Mr. Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, seeking additional surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago, his residence and private club in Florida, people with knowledge of the matter said. While the footage could shed light on the movement of the boxes, prosecutors have questioned a number of witnesses about gaps in the footage, one of the people said.
Gaps in the footage, you say? Holy Rose Mary Woods, Batman!
The investigation has expanded sufficiently that, suddenly, it includes the Saudi-financed LIV golf tour. The Bone Saw Circuit has stopped at a number of Trump properties during its inaugural season.
One of the previously unreported subpoenas to the Trump Organization sought records pertaining to Mr. Trump’s dealings with a Saudi-backed professional golf venture known as LIV Golf, which is holding tournaments at some of Mr. Trump's gold resorts. It is unclear what bearing Mr. Trump’s relationship with LIV Golf has on the broader investigation, but it suggests that the prosecutors are examining certain elements of Mr. Trump’s family business.
It certainly suggests that. It also suggests that this new source has access to more about the operation than the surveillance footage and the Pool Shed Papers. I admit, I thought at first that the whole documents thing was a trivial pursuit of some sloppy packing. I didn't realize that it might be a master key to the whole thing. Shoes are dropping again.
Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.
