New details in updated Trump indictment, Americans less interested in EVs: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: 'The boss' wanted surveillance video deleted: new details in updated Donald Trump indictment

USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen with new details in updated Donald Trump indictment, President Joe Biden has publicly acknowledged his 4-year-old grandchild for the first time, the Ukraine dam collapse disaster continues, USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance reporter Medora Lee on why Americans are less interested in owning an EV, and could sharks make good hurricane hunters?

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Dana Taylor:

Good morning and welcome to 5 Things. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Saturday, July 29th, 2023. New details on the updated Donald Trump indictment, President Biden publicly acknowledges his four-year-old granddaughter for the first time, and the Ukraine dam collapse disaster continues.

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Special Counsel Jack Smith added new charges against former President Donald Trump on Thursday and indicted a second Trump aide, Carlos De Oliveira, in the classified documents obstruction case. For more on these developments, I'm joined now by Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen. Bart, thanks for coming on the podcast.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

Dana Taylor:

So let's start by recapping the new charges filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Who is Carlos De Oliveira?

Bart Jansen:

He's a 56-year-old staffer at Mar-a-Lago. He was the property manager most recently and he had been a valet there. He basically ran things around the compound. He faces four charges, basically conspiracy to obstruct justice and then helping conceal the documents. Three new charges were added against Trump, so Trump's up to 40, four zero now, with a couple of extra obstruction charges and an extra retention of classified documents.

Basically, the new information in the indictment is that this third person, Carlos De Oliveira, allegedly helped move boxes containing documents from a storage room over to the private residence of Trump at Mar-a-Lago and then moved some of the boxes back. This is all happening amid federal subpoenas for classified documents at the compound. A Trump lawyer reviewed the boxes in early June to try to satisfy a subpoena for additional classified documents. He found 38 classified records and returned those to federal authorities in a sealed envelope.

And then after that, in late June, De Oliveira and another defendant in the case, Walt Nauta, who is a personal valet for the former president, went to an IT worker at Mar-a-Lago and asked how long does the surveillance video server keep video of people moving around the compound? They were told 45 days. And so De Oliveira said "the boss" wants the surveillance video deleted. And the staffer who's not named in the indictment said that he didn't have the right to do that. And so it sounds from the indictment as if there was an impasse.

The indictment also describes De Oliveira and Nauta then walking around the compound and then back toward the IT room. Now they still have the video, they still have this description of the folks walking around the compound. So it didn't delete the video that the prosecutors are looking at, but there are suspicions that the way they were dealing with the IT staff maybe suggests that they were trying to do something to delete the videos, and that would be evidence that a jury would consider for possible obstruction.

Dana Taylor:

Former President Trump responded to those charges on Friday. What did he say?

Bart Jansen:

Well, he says that it's just another attack. It's unfair and that they're hurting two good people, his staffers, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. And so he says they're just out to get Trump. That was on a post on Truth Social. In addition, he gave a radio interview where he was asked if he would continue campaigning while under indictment and perhaps even from prison. And he says he would continue campaigning.

Of course, that's unlikely. His lawyers have asked to delay the classified documents trial until after the November 2024 election. The judge has tentatively scheduled the trial to begin in May, but there's still a lot of arguments between now and then about what evidence will be allowed at trial. His lawyers have to review all the classified documents. There could be debates about what's allowed. And that kind of pretrial hearings and disputes could potentially push it beyond the 2024 election. Even if he were convicted, he is expected to appeal and so an appeal could take years. So it's not clear he will have to campaign from a prison cell, but he has said that he would fight these charges and continue to campaign for president.

Dana Taylor:

And what's next for the case?

Bart Jansen:

Carlos De Oliveira's first court hearing is scheduled for Monday morning at 10:30 in Miami. That could be as brief as formally presenting him with the charges against him at this point. So he's expected to appear at the courthouse. And from there presumably join the other defendants in fighting the charges up in Fort Pierce, which is where the judge that oversees the case, US District Judge Aileen Cannon, is considering the case and is expected to be where the trial will be held.

Dana Taylor:

Bart, thanks so much for your time today.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

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Dana Taylor:

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden publicly acknowledged their four-year-old grandchild, Navy, for the first time on Friday. The Arkansas girl is the child of Biden's controversial son, Hunter Biden, who fathered her out of wedlock. Biden's image as a family man who values decency and compassion have been complicated by his decision not to mention the young girl until now. It also drew increasing scrutiny from 2024 Republican presidential contenders and even second guessing by Democratic supporters. In a statement to People Magazine published early Friday evening, the president wrote, "Our son Hunter and Navy's mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interest of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward."

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Seven weeks after the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in southern Ukraine first collapsed, thousands of Ukrainians are still struggling to access clean water, and aid workers say the situation is dire. Ukrainian health officials have detected cholera like vibrio bacteria in the cities of Mykolaiv and Odessa, key Black Sea port towns near the dam that ship grain and are in the midst of repeated Russian bombings. Russia is targeting key grain infrastructure as part of its declared retribution for the attack on a critical 12-mile bridge that connects the occupied Crimean Peninsula with southern Russia. The Washington D.C. based think tank, Institute for the Study of War, determined that Russia was probably behind the blast that reportedly killed more than 50 people. Experts, including Dr. Jarno Habicht, the World Health Organization's Ukrainian representative, believed the environmental impact of the dam collapse could last for generations.

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While there are now more than three million electric vehicles on American roads, in order to meet Biden's goal of having half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, some consumers need convincing. Here to help me dig into this is Money Reporter Medora Lee. Medora, thanks so much for taking time to speak with me.

Medora Lee:

Thanks. Thanks for having me.

Dana Taylor:

You write that resistance to electric vehicles, or EVs, is becoming entrenched for some consumers. Why is that?

Medora Lee:

So the big problem has always been the cost of electric vehicles. As wonderful as they sound, they are expensive. And then the other issue that a lot of people have is always they're worried about where they're going to charge their cars and how long that's going to take. So those are usually the two top concerns. And then there's also always the concern of driving range. How far will that charge take me?

Dana Taylor:

And what are some of the other concerns that people have that's keeping them out of the EV market?

Medora Lee:

Those are the main concerns that are keeping them out. But surprisingly Autolist did this survey. So not only were they too expensive and people were concerned about the charge and the range, but there were also some switches and thoughts this year. Fewer people believed that EVs were better for the environment, for example, than gas vehicles. 38% this year thought that versus 46% last year. And then also the number of people who said gas vehicles were better for the environment also rose to 13% from 9% last year. So those are things that were surprising.

It just goes to show they said that just because the barriers to entry are coming down, I mean prices are coming down because we have more supply, they're easier to build and we have government tax credits available for people now to buy an EV, it doesn't mean that everybody's ready to hop on board.

Dana Taylor:

So people are still buying cars that run on gas.

Medora Lee:

They are. Car sales have been picking up lately because we have more supply on the market. One analyst said that early sales data seem to point that the majority of the sales are either non EV or hybrid.

Dana Taylor:

So as you know, a lot of people are taking long trips in the summer. How are prices at the pump right now?

Medora Lee:

That's interesting, too. Because even though gas prices have been rising - the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped 13 cents last week to an eight-month high of $3.71, according to AAA - people are still loving their gas vehicles. The high pump prices are really, the price of oil has risen over the last month. It rose $10 in July because supply is short. Producers have been producing less oil.

But another big boost was coming from refineries that haven't been able to work at maximum capacity because of the heat wave we've had. It's a little too dangerous to keep refineries working at maximum capacity and it's not really as efficient during this heat wave. So that's also been boosting gas prices.

Dana Taylor:

Was there anything that you found that really surprised you?

Medora Lee:

We always hear so much about EVs and that people are really jumping on the bandwagon. We hear it from politicians, but it's just that it's not really a sure thing yet, it seems like. And I mentioned this earlier to someone, too, that I find it really interesting that we had one of the largest grid operators in the country giving a level one emergency warning about the electricity use and about the grid. And we only have maybe 1% of the cars on the road are EVs.

So think about if we had this huge heat wave and then we also had a 100% of the cars on the road that were electric vehicles, and then we also had all of our gas ranges turned over to electric. I'm not really sure what would happen. So are we really ready for everyone to have an EV? I don't know.

Dana Taylor:

Medora, thanks for sharing your insights.

Medora Lee:

All right, thanks so much for having me. Have a good weekend.

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Dana Taylor:

And finally, could sharks make good hurricane hunters? Researchers are finding real life stormy drama in which sharks heightened senses at sea offer huge untapped potential to improve hurricane forecast models, a prospect far from science fiction. As Discovery Channel's Shark Week taps into primal fears this week, researchers point to mounting proof of the world's most feared predators' seemingly limitless potential to save far more humans than they kill. One way, they can teach us how to stay out of harm's way during deadly hurricanes. Some sharks act like unflinching storm chasers while others are storm duckers, diving to safer, deeper waters. Their movements before, during, and after storms have a lot to tell us about how hurricanes turn and intensify, researchers say. While we currently see five day cone warnings, shark sense dips and air pressure surrounding hurricanes as much as two weeks ahead of time. They also head for deeper water when the storm is still some 100 miles away.

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Before we go, today is National Chicken Wing Day and several restaurant chains, including Buffalo Wild Wings, Popeyes, Hooters, and more, have deals. So if you're in part of the country that's been suffering under the heat, head on out into the air conditioning and enjoy a nice plate of wings.

Have a great weekend and thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week on your favorite podcast platforms. If you like the show, please subscribe, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Any comments, you can reach us at podcasts@usatoday.com. Catch up on all the news you need to know throughout the day at usatoday.com. I'm Dana Taylor filling in for Taylor Wilson and I'll be back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Trump indictment details, EV interest dips in US: 5 Things podcast