Former President Donald Trump not expected to attend Thursday arraignment in Fort Pierce
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FORT PIERCE – Anyone hoping to see former President Donald Trump at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce will be waiting a while longer, after he filed papers indicating he’ll skip his arraignment Thursday before a magistrate judge.
“I waive my right to appear in court at my arraignment,” Trump said in an Aug. 4 filing, referring to a Thursday 10:30 a.m. hearing at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse.
In the same filing, Trump pleaded “not guilty” to three new charges added July 27 to a criminal indictment in the classified documents case. The new charges include two counts of obstruction and one count of unlawful retention of National Defense Information.
It’s still unclear if Trump’s co-defendant and hired “body man” Waltine “Walt” Nauta will show up or waive his appearance to be arraigned on two new obstruction counts added in the superseding indictment.
Last week, Trump and Nauta were scheduled for arraignment Thursday, but lawyers with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office filed papers July 27 stating that both may excuse their appearance “subject to the court’s approval.”
However, Trump’s newest co-defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, is expected in Fort Pierce Thursday at 10 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard to enter a plea on four counts revealed in the superseding indictment, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealing an object and making a false statement.
De Oliveira, who is the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, didn’t enter a plea during his first court appearance July 31 in Miami. A judge put off his arraignment to give him time to obtain a local lawyer, after he appeared in court with his Washington D.C.-based attorney, John Irving.
Court records though, don’t indicate who will represent him at Thursday’s hearing.
Superseding indictment allegations
De Oliveira is accused of helping Trump and Nauta conceal boxes of classified documents from investigators after the former president left office.
Prosecutors say the former president mishandled dozens of classified documents he took from the White House and schemed with members of his staff to hide them from investigators.
FBI agents seized boxes of classified documents containing military and intelligence secrets during a search of Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022 — more than a year and a half after Trump left office.
In the documents case, Trump now faces a total of 40 counts and Nauta is charged with eight counts.
According to the indictment, De Oliveira told another member of Trump's staff that “the boss” wanted the server for surveillance cameras deleted after investigators issued a subpoena for video of the Palm Beach estate. The staffer refused.
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In an interview with the FBI on Jan. 13, De Oliveira denied helping unload or move boxes for Trump.
U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon has scheduled their trial to begin in May 2024.
Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Donald Trump files papers to skip Thursday arraignment in Fort Pierce
