Donald Trump plays golf as his aides report to court on new classified documents charges

Former President Donald Trump and his loyal valet have both pleaded not guilty to new charges in the classified documents investigation.

Trump did not attend a hearing on Thursday morning – he instead smashed a tee shot in the pro-am before the LIV Golf tournament starting the next day at his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. Trump waived his right to appear in person and entered his plea through his attorney Todd Blanche.

The ex-president appeared in court in June and pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges in the first indictment around his alleged mishandling of classified documents he took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago home. Trump’s valet Walt Nauta was also charged at the time.

Trump’s plea entered through his lawyer on Thursday addressed a July superseding indictment in which prosecutors brought three additional charges. The updated indictment also named a third defendant, Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira.

While Trump played golf at his club, Nauta appeared in federal court in Florida and entered his not guilty plea to two additional charges in the superseding indictment, through his lawyer Stanley Woodward. Nauta was charged with six crimes in the original indictment.

De Oliveira also appeared before before US Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard in Fort Pierce. De Oliveira allegedly schemed with Trump and Nauta to try to delete CCTV of Mar-a-Lago employees moving boxes of classified documents that federal investigators asked for. De Oliveira was not arraigned on Thursday because he had not yet retained a lawyer based in Florida, as required.

His arraignment has been rescheduled for Tuesday morning.

‘We believe that we have that ironed out,’ said De Oliveira’s attorney John Irving. 

Trump on Thursday looked relaxed on his golf course, despite facing three indictments and a possible fourth around the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Beside the classified documents case, Trump pleaded not guilty in a hush money investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney in April, and last week pleaded not guilty to charges in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

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