Miami (AFP) - The property manager at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges in a case alleging the former president mishandled classified government documents after leaving office, US media reported.
Prosecutors accuse Trump of taking dozens of secret documents when he left the White House in January 2021 -- including plans on nuclear programs -- an act that they said endangered national security.
Also charged were two employees, property manager Carlos de Oliveira and Trump personal assistant Waltine Nauta.
De Oliveira appeared Tuesday for a brief arraignment at a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, some 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Miami, US media reported.
Prosecutors accuse De Oliveira of scheming with Trump and Nauta to erase images from a surveillance camera to keep the footage out of the hands of investigators.
Trump and the two employees have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and tampering with evidence.
Nauta and De Oliveira also face charges of false testimony after they assured federal officers that they knew nothing about the documents kept by Trump at his Florida residence.
Trump and Nauta have already pleaded not guilty in the case, but De Oliveira was unable to do so because he did not have local counsel.
The trial is scheduled for May 2024, in the thick of the US presidential campaign.
Trump, who faces a total of 91 criminal charges across four jurisdictions, is the frontrunner seeking the Republican nomination, far ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The former president has been indicted four times since March. The Florida case is in addition to two cases over his alleged efforts overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, and a fourth case in New York over hush money payments he made to a porn star.
