Trump aide pleads not guilty in classified documents case

Two aides of former US President Donald Trump appeared before a federal court in the southeastern state of Florida on Thursday on charges related to misleading investigators searching Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort home in Palm Beach. 

Walt Nauta, Trump's valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago, are accused of misleading investigators as they attempted to recover the documents.

Nauta pleaded not guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and false statements. De Oliveira appeared next to Nauta but did not enter a plea because he does not yet have a local council with a Florida license, as was the case during his previous appearance in court.

The judge on Thursday set a new arraignment date for August 15.

What are Trump and his aides accused of?

Trump is accused of illegally and haphazardly holding classified documents from his time in office at his Mar-a-Lago home.

Trump and Nauta were initially arraigned in June. Trump has already pleaded not guilty to to 40 counts of unauthorized retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice and false statements.

However, a new indictment handed down late last month added more charges and De Oliveira to the case. De Oliveira appeared in court in July but didn't enter a plea because he hadn't retained local council.

According to prosecutors, Nauta moved boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago to hide them from Trump's lawyer and federal investigators.

He and De Oliveira are accused of attempting to delete security camera footage and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Trump not expected to appear on Thursday

Although he was also scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, Trump is not expected to be present at the hearing as he waived his right to attend last week after he filed papers saying he was not guilty of the latest charges.

The magistrate judge formally accepted Trump's not guilty plea on Thursday. 

Trump is accused of conspiring with De Oliveira and Nauta to attempt to delete security camera footage from the Mar-a-Lago residence before it could be accessed by investigators.

The indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information.

Trump facing multiple cases

The case is one of three the former president is facing, with a possible fourth indictment on the horizon in Georgia.

Trump claims the charges against him are a political plot aimed at thwarting his bid to be elected in the 2024 presidential election.

The former president has pleaded not guilty to 40 counts of unauthorized retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice and false statements. He appeared at an arraignment in June.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty in a case accusing him of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, in which he was defeated by current President Joe Biden, and in another case that charges him with allegedly falsifying business records to conceal money he paid out to a porn star in exchange for her silence.

He has also denied the accusations levied against him in Georgia, where he could be charged with reversing his election loss in that state.

sdi/wmr (Reuters, AP)