Donald Trump property manager appears in court over secret docs case
Miami, Florida - The property manager of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday to face charges for allegedly helping the former president conceal classified government documents.
Carlos De Oliveira (56) listened attentively as federal magistrate judge Edwin Torres read the charges against him at a brief hearing on Monday, which include conspiring to obstruct justice, destroying evidence, and making false statements.
He did not enter a plea as he has not yet retained a local attorney, and was released pending trial on a bond of $100,000.
Trump, along with his personal aide Waltine "Walt" Nauta who was listed as a co-defendant, pled not guilty in June to 37 federal charges.
Special counsel Jack Smith filed additional charges against Trump in a superseding indictment last week, adding De Oliveira as a new co-defendant.
According to court documents, De Oliveira is said to have asked another employee to erase surveillance video at the estate so that they do not fall into the hands of the judiciary. A conversation between De Oliveira and the unnamed employee is described, in which De Oliveira is said to have said that "the boss" wanted "the server" to be deleted.
De Oliveira is also accused of providing false information to the FBI. When asked if he ever helped unload or hide boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago, De Oliveira replied that he "never saw anything."
Cover photo: Collage: JEFF SWENSEN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP