Trump charged with additional count in Mar-a-Lago documents case

July 27th, 2023

A grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has charged former President Donald Trump with a new count of willful retention of National Defense Information in the case related to his handling of classified documents. The new charge stems from a top-secret presentation Trump waved at aides at his Bedminster, N.J., resort.

A new defendant was also added the indictment against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta. Carlos de Oliveira, 56, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was added to the obstruction conspiracy charged in the original indictment.

The superseding indictment charges Trump, De Oliveira and Nauta with two new obstruction counts based on allegations that they tried to delete surveillance video footage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence last summer.

The indictment charged De Oliveira with false statements and representations made in a interview with the FBI on Jan. 13, 2023. He is expected to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami on July 31. His lawyer John Irving declined comment.

Trump faces more than three dozen counts, including more than 30 violations of the Espionage Act, over allegations of withholding documents related to national security. He’s also charged, along with Nauta, with making false statements and conspiring to obstruct justice. The trial is set for May 20, 2024. That schedule puts the trial at the tail end of the Republican presidential primary process. Trump is currently the front-runner for the GOP nomination and already may have become the nominee by that time.