Tuesday, the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira, pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the prosecution of former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents.
In the classified documents case, De Oliveira was named a co-defendant for allegedly concealing security camera footage from federal investigators, as The Daily Wire reported.
After the Department of Justice issued a subpoena for the materials, he is also accused of assisting Trump aide Walt Nauta in moving crates of classified materials around Mar-a-Lago.
According to CBS News, the property manager is accused of altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object; corruptly altering, destroying, or concealing a document, record, or other object; conspiring to obstruct justice; and making false statements and representations during a voluntary interview with federal investigators.
In front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard, De Oliveira, represented by Donald Murrell, pled not guilty to the charges.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by special counsel Jack Smith, who was entrusted by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate allegations that Trump mishandled classified documents.
The property manager is accused of requesting that another Mar-a-Lago employee delete "the server" at the property in order to dispose of surveillance footage.
Trump and Nauta pled not guilty to new federal allegations contained in classified documents superseding Smith's indictment last week.
In this case, Trump faces 40 criminal allegations, including possession at Mar-a-Lago of information about the defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign nations, as well as U.S. nuclear programs.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and asserted that the prosecution is motivated by politics.
“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponized department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” the former president said in his first speech after the document indictment against him was announced.
“Many people have said that; Democrats have even said it," he added. "This vicious persecution is a travesty of justice.”
Investigations are also being conducted about the suspected improper handling of classified papers by President Joe Biden, including the storage of sensitive documents at a think tank located in Washington, District of Columbia, and the garage of his home located in Delaware.
Special counsel Robert Hur's inquiry into the Biden document probe has not yet resulted in any charges or findings being drawn from that investigation.
