Third defendant in Trump classified documents case pleads not guilty

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago and third defendant in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump in Florida, pleaded “not guilty” on Tuesday.

This was De Oliveira’s third court appearance for an arraignment and plea, after delays when he initially failed to secure a local attorney, as rules require in the Southern District of Florida.

The local attorney, criminal defense lawyer Larry Donald Murrell Jr., made the plea on his client’s behalf. The proceedings took place in the Alto Lee Adams, Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla.

De Oliveira stood with Murrell at the lectern when federal Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard stepped into the courtroom and said, “Good morning.” He appeared somber and wore dark glasses while in court and the proceedings took roughly three minutes. He will be tried before a jury.

Three police officers escorted Murrell and De Oliveira out of the courthouse after the arraignment was over. Neither man acknowledged or spoke to shouted questions from reporters.

De Oliveira’s appearance came as Trump faces his fourth indictment, this time in Georgia on 41 felony counts. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Monday night charged Trump and 18 of his allies with racketeering charges, alleging he attempted to corrupt the 2020 election by subverting President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia.

The Department of Justice accused De Oliveira, 56, of trying to delete security footage investigators sought when they were seeking evidence regarding Trump’s alleged hoarding of classified material.

His charges include conspiracy to obstruct justice, lying to the FBI and destroying evidence. Miami federal prosecutor Michael Thakur appeared in court on behalf of the federal government.

Murrell, who is from West Palm Beach, will defend De Oliveira alongside D.C.-based attorney John Iving.

Mills Maynard declared De Oliveira “all squared away in terms of permanent counsel” and ordered the federal government to disclose discovery in the case, including any conflicting evidence or questionable witnesses. “I wish you the best of luck,” she told the defendant as she ended the arraignment.

De Oliveira, a Portuguese immigrant, worked at Mar-a-Lago for more than a decade after starting out as a maintenance worker and then becoming a valet, according to numerous news reports and the indictment. He was promoted to the role of property manager in January 2022.

DOJ alleges in its indictment that De Oliveira told an IT employee that “the boss” wanted security video footage deleted after investigators subpoenaed it.

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon will preside over the classified documents trial, which is scheduled to take place in Fort Pierce and tentatively set to begin in May 20, 2024 — a time when the Republican presidential nominee is likely to be decided.

Polling shows that the numerous cases against Trump have not hurt him in the polls but have instead strengthened his frontrunner status in the race.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, ordered Murrell to get a security clearance by August 23 so he can consult with De Oliveira about the classified documents in question.

On July 31, De Oliveira first appeared in a Miami federal courthouse. He heard the charges against him and received pre-trial orders, including turning over his expired passport and agreeing to a signature bond.

De Oliveira’s second court appearance in the classified documents case was Aug. 10, when Trump’s lawyers entered a plea of “not guilty” on the former president’s behalf following a superseding indictment in the classified. Trump himself did not appear in court at that time, and wasn’t required to.

He initially appeared in a Miami federal courthouse in June to plead not guilty. Trump faces 32 counts of willfully retaining national defense information under the Espionage Act and another eight counts connected to alleged obstruction of justice.

Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal aide, appeared alongside the former president in Miami in June as a co-defendant in the case. But like De Oliveira, he had to wait another two rounds until he entered a plea with a local attorney.

Federal prosecutors allege that Nauta helped pack Trump’s boxes of documents before he left the White House and repeatedly moved them around Mar-a-Lago at the ex-president’s request.