Special Counsel Jack Smith on Thursday added a third defendant in the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump.
Carlos De Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s head of maintenance, was charged in a superseding indictment with altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a document, making false statements, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The superseding indictment also added new charges against Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta, who both previously pled not guilty. De Oliveira was ordered to appear in Miami in federal court on Monday for his first hearing in the case.
Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to reporters Friday, June 9, 2023, in Washington. Smith’s investigations of Donald Trump’s retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election have cost more than $9 million over the first several months, according to documents released July 7. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
“The superseding indictment also charges Trump, De Oliveira and Nauta with two new obstruction counts based on allegations that the defendants attempted to delete surveillance video footage at The Mar-a-Lago Club in summer 2022,” special counsel spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement.
As CNBC detailed:
De Oliveira allegedly told another Mar-a-Lago employee that “the boss” wanted to delete a server containing surveillance footage, according to the superseding indictment.
He also allegedly told the FBI he was not involved in moving documents that officials sought, telling agents, “Never saw anything.”
De Oliveira reportedly helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed Trump for the remaining records last May.
The indictment alleges that Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira asked a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete security footage to prevent it from ending up in front of a federal grand jury.
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Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
