Trump co-defendants head to court in classified documents case

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The Mar-a-Lago property manager charged in a new indictment alongside Donald Trump over the handling of classified government documents had to once again delay his arraignment in a Florida court on Thursday after he was unable to secure a local lawyer in time.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, is accused of conspiring with Trump and Walt Nauta, a personal aide for the former president, to thwart federal investigators’ efforts to retrieve sensitive files from Trump after he left office. De Oliveira was named a co-conspirator alongside Trump and Nauta in special counsel Jack Smith’s updated indictment last month. 

A Florida attorney, Donnie Murrell, who sat by De Oliveira in the courtroom had not yet filed a notice of appearance in the case. He told Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard, the magistrate who oversaw Thursday’s hearing, that he hoped to do so by tomorrow afternoon after ironing out some details. It is “close to being handled,” he said.

Murrell asked to have De Oliveira be arraigned on August 25, when there is already a pre-trial hearing scheduled, but Maynard rejected that request. The judge agreed to waive De Oliveira’s appearance at a hearing to enter his plea next Tuesday morning.

De Oliveira arrived at the courthouse at about 9:45 a.m. ET on Thursday. Nauta arrived separately.

According to the indictment, De Oliveira told an employee at Trump’s Palm Beach club that “the boss” wanted video surveillance footage deleted, after federal investigators requested the recordings from the former president’s attorneys. He is also accused of making false statements to the government, saying that he “never saw anything” when asked about his involvement in moving boxes containing the classified files. 

Appearing before a judge for the first time last week, De Oliveira was unable to enter his plea because he had not secured a Florida-based attorney. Hours before he was newly set to be arraigned, it was still not known whether he had retained local counsel.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the new charges and waived his notice of appearance at the arraignment in a court filing last week. The plea was entered by a lawyer.

Nauta pleaded not guilty on the updated charges through his lawyer. Asked if he understood the charges, Trump’s aide, speaking softly, said that he did. “Thank you, your honor,” Nauta responded when the judge wished him a good day.

Questions about who is set to represent Trump and his codefendants have drawn close scrutiny since the first charges were announced in June with routine processes drawn out at several junctures. Nauta’s not guilty plea was twice delayed after he was unable to secure a Florida attorney.

Mark Schnapp, a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor in Florida’s Southern District, said De Oliveira should have a lawyer by the hearing.

“Candidly, there’s no reason he can’t find a lawyer,” Schnapp said. 

The former president’s lawyers have also cited the threat of further legal jeopardy to push for a later trial date, and Trump has called for the case to be tried after the 2024 election, since he is currently running for president. 

The judge in Thursday’s hearing could also address questions about the handling of classified information and potential conflicts of interest for lawyers involved in the case. Trump’s political fundraising group has also paid attorneys representing his aides and employees.

In a court filing this week, the federal judge overseeing the case responded to a request by the government for a hearing over this issue by asking the special counsel about whether prosecutors continue to investigate the former president before a different grand jury. 

Schnapp said the government’s motion, which referenced charges developed by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., “opened the door” to the judge’s inquiry and offered a potential opening for the defense to dismiss the obstruction counts. 

“In an extreme situation, this could be the basis for a motion to dismiss the superseding indictment or the new counts,” said Schnapp, a former chief of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami. Still, he said the motion was unlikely to succeed.