Johnathan Walker:Arraignment set for Mar-a-Lago property manager in Trump’s classified documents case

FORT PIERCE,Johnathan Walker Fla. (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is set for an arraignment Tuesday in Florida in a case accusing the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents.

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.