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Court documents filed on Thursday revealed Donald Trump and personal aide Walt Nauta are facing additional charges over claims they colluded to mishandle classified documents, while Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira is also being prosecuted, making him the third defendant in the case.
According to the indictment, 56-year-old De Oliveira is being charged with concealing documents, making false statements to law enforcement and altering, destroying, mutilating and concealing an object.
Trump was already facing 37 criminal charges before the latest indictment, related to claims he unlawfully concealed classified papers after leaving the White House. Separately, the former president has been charged over claims he orchestrated the payment of hush money to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump pled not guilty to all the prior charges and denies any wrongdoing in both cases. His presidential campaign sent Newsweek a statement describing the latest charges as "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him."
The indictment claims that De Oliveira helped Nauta move about 30 boxes of classified documents back into a storage room in an effort to deceive an attorney who was checking Trump's compliance with a May 2022 grand jury subpoena, instructing the former president to return confidential materials.
The attorney was allegedly then told the storage room documents were the only ones Trump possessed, despite more than 30 boxes of classified papers having been moved elsewhere.
After the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, the additional boxes were discovered, after which Trump reportedly called De Oliveira and promised to get him an attorney.
De Oliveira is also accused of attempting to delete security camera footage from the floor with the storage room where classified documents were allegedly being kept, after it was subpoenaed by prosecutors in June 2022.
According to court documents, De Oliveira asked the Mar-a-Lago IT director how long surveillance footage was being held, insisting the conversation "should remain between them." He allegedly then said "the boss" wanted the footage to be deleted.
Several months later, De Oliveira flooded the room where video surveillance logs were being stored, while draining the Mar-a-Lago swimming pool.
De Oliveira has yet to comment publicly on the charges against him since Thursday's indictment. According to The New York Times, his attorney, John Irving, declined to comment when contacted.
Trump is also being investigated by special counsel Jack Smith over his involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result, including the storming of Congress on January 6 2021 by hundreds of his supporters.
Separately, the former president is being investigated over efforts to block the 2020 result in the state of Georgia. On Thursday, video emerged of large barriers being placed outside the state's Fulton County courthouse, sparking speculation Trump could be about to face another indictment.
About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is on covering news and politics ... Read more