Carlos De Oliveira, a former employee of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, is expected to make his first court appearance on charges of scheming to hide security footage from investigators. De Oliveira, who was the estate’s property manager, is accused of conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. He is scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami on Monday, nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty to the same charges.
The case alleges a plot by Trump, his former valet Walt Nauta, and De Oliveira to illegally keep top-secret records at the Florida estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them. Prosecutors have not alleged that the security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators. De Oliveira’s attorney declined to comment on the allegations.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing over the Mar-a-Lago security tapes, claiming that they were voluntarily handed over to investigators. He stated on his Truth Social platform that he was told the tapes were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.” In a separate letter, Trump was informed that he is the target of another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election.
Carlos De Oliveira (Via Carlos De Oliveira/Twitter)
The latest indictment also alleges that Trump tried to have the security footage deleted after investigators visited the estate in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets he was entrusted to protect.
As the trial is scheduled to begin in May, it is unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may alter its timeline. The allegations against Trump and his co-defendants are serious, and the case is likely to be closely watched by the public and the media.
