Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Trump’s Close Advisor FLIPPED ON HIM to FBI

Episode Date: April 27, 2024

“PERSON 16”—a Trump insider who is cooperating with the FBI in the Mar a Lago criminal case, has DAMNING testimony about Trump obstructing justice by ordering his co-conspirator and butler Walt Nauta TO LIE TO THE FBI and get a PARDON IN RETURN. Michael Popok examines the recently unsealed 10-page FBI interview and explains how it will be used to establish Trump’s criminal intent to hide the top secret documents from the prosecutors that he stole on the way out of the White House. Get 15% off your first order+free rush shipping at https://FieldofGreens.com and use promo code LEGALAF Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/legalaf Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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person number 16? Number 16 out of about 40 or 50 different witnesses that the FBI investigated as part of the Mar-a-Lago criminal prosecution of Donald Trump. We now have their interview notes. Sure, they're heavily redacted, but I can figure it out. I can't tell you who Person 16 is, although I can give you their demographics and their background, but I can tell you what they said, including the new bombshell that Walt Nauta, yes the valet butler at Mar-a-Lago, was told by Donald Trump, according to Person 16, that if he lied to the FBI about moving boxes around to hide them from the search warrant and from the subpoena at Mar-a-Lago, you know, the national defense information and the classified

documents that belong to you and me, he would get a pardon if Donald Trump were reelected in 2024. That explains why Walt Nauta, whose lawyer is paid for by Donald Trump, Stan Woodward, is not cooperating with the prosecutors, but is gonna go down with the ship. No pun intended for a former Naval officer or a Naval petty officer.

So we have the notes that the FBI typed up for number 16, and guess how we got them? This FBI interview statement was provided as is required by the prosecutor's special counsel's office to Trump, and Trump attached it to one of his motions, but redacted it and sealed it. And the judge, Judge Cannon down in Florida has unsealed it because, well, we live in a world

where we like to have our criminal cases and prosecutions done in the open and not in a black box and not be opaque and be more transparent. And so I get to my hands on the interview notes. Let me tell you about 16. I'm not sure exactly who it is. It's not a lawyer, I can tell you that. It's a person who had access to Donald Trump and frequently visited the White House during the 2016

to 2020 time period. Had basically open access to Donald Trump, visited him at Mar-a-Lago, visited him in his personal residence at Mar-a-Lago and tried to counsel Donald Trump, not as a lawyer, but apparently as an advisor, to return all of the boxes to the National Archive, stop playing games. This person said, don't give the government a noble excuse to claim that you are withholding documents and to prosecute you because they will.

That was true. And also, in the interview that went on for a number of hours was not sworn because the person didn't want to give it under oath but was very telling as to the information. This person says not only was Donald Trump told by those around him to return the documents and stop screwing around, Donald Trump sent back to person number 16, how do they even know about all the documents that I have in my possession, right? All the hoarding of American top secret classified

documents, how do they even know about that? This person also said that with Donald Trump, you have to have multiple people come to him with the same messaging and information in order for him to do it. And usually the kids, Ivanka, Don Jr., or Eric, have to go to Donald Trump and say, dad, you gotta return all the boxes

to like the American people or some, you know, that's my artist's rendering, some version of that. 16 is most dabbing against Walt Natter. Person 16, and I'm gonna try to get to the bottom of who this person is, who's a non-lawyer, from what I can tell, no privilege implicated, said point blank, that Walt Natter was promised by the Trump people,

Trump world, that if he lies for the president to the FBI, he'll get a pardon. I mean, if that's not obstruction of justice, I don't know what is. All the people that are jumping up and down on the other side of the aisle, and I have friends that are Republicans that are saying, it's a witch hunt, it's election interference.

I said, well, don't nominate a guy who commits crimes as indicted and you won't have a problem with the criminal justice system trying to interfere with the election results. How's that? Is there anybody else that you can nominate? Let's go back to person 16.

Person 16 also visited Donald Trump and Trump Tower as well, Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower, Ben Minster, the Oval Office. This person had tremendous access. As to the boxes, this person knew that Trump had not returned and multiple people had tried to convince Trump to return the records. Read from

page seven of the interview, this person said that in late October, early November of 2021, person 16 made an appeal to Trump on a conference call and told him, quote, whatever you have, give it all back. This witness also says that Trump wanted to know how anyone knew about the issue. And Trump was informed it was all documented in writing. The response was essentially, it was essentially we'll check and think about it. This witness was unsure whose idea it was to have that call,

but there was a conference call. So again, this goes to Medrea, criminal mind of Donald Trump. He's being told, he's being advised, he's being messaged that he needs to return the documents and he doesn't do it. And person 16, while we don't know who their identity is right now,

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page eight of the, or actually page seven of the interview, where person 16 who met with Donald Trump again at Mar-a-Lago while he was dressed in quote golf attire, told Trump quote, whatever you have, give everything back. Let me come here and get everything. Let me do it for you. Don't give them a noble reason to indict you

because they will. And Trump provided to this witness a weird, you're the man type of response. So now I think it's a male number 16. And that person 16 walked away from the 15 minute meeting with the impression that Trump was going to return the records to the National Archive. And we know that didn't happen. Now as to the, so that's where a witness 16, this male who has lots of access to Donald Trump, who is not a lawyer, who is moving in his world at Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster,

also back up in the Oval Office, we'll get to the bottom of person 16. Now, there's also a comment by number 16 about the lawyers around Donald Trump. So on page eight of the interview, he says that person 16, which is the focus of this hot take, says that somebody labeled as person five is a total moron

whom this person 16 first met at the White House, that person five went and leveraged access to the White House and that Trump used to avoid person five in the White House and that person five worked with somebody and that person five worked with somebody and that after January, 2021, person five constantly sent Trump what had been uncovered on the election fraud

and maneuvered that into POTUS's circle. I'm gonna unveil, I believe, I'm gonna reveal or unveil person five. I think that's Sidney Powell. I think all this discussion about somebody's a moron who tried to use election fraud to get into Trump's inner circle. It was ignored as much as they could by Donald Trump.

That rings to me of the truth of Sidney Powell. This person also said that Donald Trump hired Jim Trusty as his lawyer, because he liked the way he looked on TV. Then he hired another lawyer because he liked the way he or she dressed. I have a feeling it's a she. I'm looking at you, Alina Haba. So person 16 like knows a lot, like a fly on the wall here.

And then this is the part that's the most damning on page nine of the 10 page interview. Person 16 testified to the FBI that Nauda, Walt Nauda, the co-conspirator in Mar-a-Lago, the Butler valet, was told by Trump's people that this investigation was not going anywhere, the Mar-a-Lago one, and it was politically motivated and much ado about nothing.

And listen to this one. Nauda was also told that if even if he gets charged with lying to the FBI, Trump will pardon him in 2024. Okay, so I think you have that witness coming in, being identified in front of a jury who's gonna establish not only the criminal mind and mens rea of Donald Trump, he's gonna cook Walt Nauta's goose and

they're gonna use this ability to pardon or this this telegraphic, this witness tampering to Walt Nauta. Lie for the president, he'll take care of you. Which is very consistent with what we've already heard. Somebody like you you Seale Tavares who's the IT worker who avoided indictment because he cooperated with the federal government against Nauta and Carlos de Olvera, the maintenance worker. He said that he had a conversation, I believe, with somebody like Susie Wiles,

who is in the Trump packet communications department, who told him, don't worry, we'll take care of you. We'll get you a lawyer and other things. Same thing Walt Nauta was told. Same thing that Cassidy Hutchinson was told. We'll get you a lawyer. We'll get you a lawyer and other things. Same thing Walt Natter was told. Same thing that Cassidy Hutchinson was told. We'll get you a lawyer. We'll get you a job if you don't cooperate with the prosecutors in the Gen 6 Committee.

Do you see the pattern here of obstruction of justice? Now look, I know there was a lot of conversation led by Justice Gorsuch at the United States Supreme Court during oral argument on the immunity about, what about self-pardon? Why can't the president just do a self pardon? But him being able to self pardon, which I don't think the Supreme Court will ultimately rule

that that's appropriate is different than him witness tampering, offering to pardon somebody in order for them to lie in an investigation and obstruct justice. I don't even think that would fall under official conduct that's subject to absolute immunity, even by the bag of right wing, if they go that direction

off of yesterday's Supreme Court ruling. But look, I think the other takeaway from this analysis of these new 400 pages that have been stripped of their ceiling and stripped of their privilege, if you will, and released to the public in the Mar-a-Lago case by Judge Cannon, is that there are dozens and dozens and dozens of cooperating witnesses with the federal government against Donald Trump. This is not just going to be he said, he said, he said. It's not going to be a case of like Nauda, D'Oliveira, and Trump if they take the stand. There are dozens of other witnesses.

There are insiders within Mar-a-Lago that worked for Trump, executive assistants that worked for him, maintenance workers, housekeepers, cooks, video surveillance footage, the results of the execution of the search warrants, and what was found there, photographic evidence, recordings. I mean, we have it all. Evan Corcoran, the lawyer for Donald Trump, who has 50 pages of single-spaced notes turned over to the FBI because the attorney-client privilege was blown by fraud, the crime fraud exception. His audio notes about his conversations with Donald Trump. I don't want to say this is an open and shut case against Donald Trump, but I think it's gonna be very hard for him to win at Mar-a-Lago, and he knows it. That's

why he's trying every which way to avoid the Mar-a-Lago case being set for trial. And at the rate we're going with the immunity case, which to me, and I'll do a separate hot take on it, looks like the majority led by the right wing is going to send this case back down to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, or even to Judge Chutkin to try with a razor surgically to figure out what is an official conduct for which there's going to be absolute immunity apparently, and what is not official conduct, and what is private conduct with in official conduct, a hybrid that would also not be subject to immunity and that's gonna have to go down to a court system before it even

gets tried which means we're not gonna have the DC election trial about a defrauding the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding until after the election if at all which now Mar-a-Lago comes back up. Now, if that happens, there would be time to try the Mar-a-Lago case before November, if there is judicial will by Judge Cannon. And the more that we shine the light on witnesses like number 16, 16 out of 50 or 60 different witnesses

for the government who will testify, the more likely we can try to pressure to make sure the justice is done in this trial for Mar-a-Lago is the second trial if there's going to be one before the November election. I'll continue to follow it all right here on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. Join us on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Find out why we call it Legal AF. We take and curate the top five stories at the development at the development, at the development, sorry, at the intersection of law and politics. We bring it to you right here. Free subscribe to the Midas

Touch Network. Get up to 3 million free subscribers and if you like what I'm doing, give me a thumbs up, leave a comment. It helps, keeps me on the air so to speak, and then you can go over to Playlist, look for Michael Popak, and under Contributors you'll find all my body of work over 1000 hot takes just like this one. So until my next hot take, until my next Legal AF, this is Michael Popok reporting. Heary, Heary, Legal AF Law Breakdown is now in session. Go beyond the headlines and get a deep dive into the important legal concepts you need to know and we discuss every day on Legal AF. Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else,

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