The US Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday dropped the criminal proceedings against Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliviera, in the classified documents case initiated by former special counsel Jack Smith. The appeals court must still approve the Justice Department’s request for the appeal to be officially terminated.

The dismissed charges were part of the broader federal case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. The latest decision effectively brings an end to legal proceedings against Trump’s associates who had been charged alongside him in connection with the handling of classified materials.

Both the co-accused were charged with obstruction-related offenses, including attempting to delete security footage, which prosecutors had alleged contained evidence relevant to the case. Walt Nauta was Trump’s valet while Carlos De Oliviera was the manager of Mar-a-Lago. Nauta was accused of helping conceal boxes of classified documents from an attorney collecting them for a grand jury subpoena and making false statements to investigators. De Oliviera was charged with attempting to erase security footage from the estate that was requested via a grand jury subpoena.

The US DOJ did not provide a detailed explanation for dropping the charges. The decision to abandon the case follows Donald Trump’s recent election victory and raises questions about the future of the remaining charges against him, which he has repeatedly denounced as politically motivated.

This comes after US District Court Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case against Trump and his co-defendants in July 2024.