An aide to Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Florida on Tuesday to charges he tried to helped the former U.S. president hide secret documents taken upon leaving office, according to an ABC News journalist post on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The aide, Carlos De Oliveira, is the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court on June 13 in Miami to charges he unlawfully kept classified national security documents when he left office in 2021 and lied to officials who sought to recover them. The Associated Press has the story:
Trump’s Docs Case: Mar-a-Lago manager pleaded not guilty
Newslooks- FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP)
Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to scheming with Donald Trump to try to delete security footage sought by investigators probing the former president’s hoarding of classified documents.
An attorney for De Oliveira entered the plea on his behalf during a brief hearing in the Fort Pierce, Florida, federal court, where Trump is charged with illegally holding onto top-secret records at his Palm Beach club and thwarting government efforts to retrieve them.
It’s the third court appearance for De Oliveira, who twice before had his arraignment postponed because he hadn’t yet finalized a Florida-based attorney, which is required under court rules.
De Oliveira spoke only to answer the magistrate judge’s questions, such as whether he understood the charges against him. De Oliveira and his new attorney, Donnie Murrell of West Palm Beach, walked out of the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
De Oliveira’s arraignment comes a day after Trump was charged in a fourth criminal case. Monday night Trump and 18 allies were indicted in a case out of Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged efforts by him and his supporters to illegally meddle in the 2020 election in that state.
In the Mar-a-Lago case, Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta, were originally charged in June in one of two cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Smith has also charged Republican Trump in Washington with illegally conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
The hearing was postponed last week because the property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, had not secured a Florida-based attorney.
Trump waived his right to appear alongside De Oliveira, and valet Walt Nauta, last Thursday, and the judge accepted a not guilty plea the former president made in court papers. Nauta also pleaded not guilty.
De Oliveira’s failure to finalize local counsel marked the latest delay in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial in May. Trump’s lawyers have made clear they want to push the trial date back. A Florida-based attorney appeared with De Oliveira in court on Thursday but had not been retained on the case.
Attorneys for Trump, De Oliveira and Nauta left the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce last Thursday without commenting to reporters about the case.
An updated indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith late last month accuses Nauta and De Oliveira of scheming with the Republican former president to try to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance video sought by investigators.
They are facing charges that include conspiracy to obstruct justice in the case stemming from secret government documents found at the Palm Beach club after Trump left the White House in 2021.
Nauta and Trump were charged in June and previously pleaded not guilty, but a new indictment added more charges and De Oliveira to the case. While De Oliveira made an initial appearance in July, he didn’t enter a plea because he hadn’t retained local counsel.
Trump was already charged with dozens of felony counts, and the indictment added new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information.
It’s one of four different criminal cases Trump is facing this year as he tries to reclaim the White House in 2024. Monday night he was indicted in a case out of Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged efforts by him and his Republican allies to illegally meddle in the 2020 election in that state.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has characterized all the cases against him as politically motivated.
