MIAMI (NEWSnet/AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president.

He does not yet have a Florida-based attorney; and as a result, did not enter a plea.

Carlos De Oliveira is accused of scheming with Trump to try to delete security footage sought by investigators probing the former president's hoarding of classified documents at his Palm Beach club. De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the ex-president's valet, Walt Nauta, and faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.

De Oliveira answered questions from a magistrate judge during the hearing in Miami federal court. He was ordered to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay $100,000 if he doesn’t return to court. Although he was represented by Washington, D.C.-based attorney John, but under court rules he needs local counsel to proceed with his arraignment, now scheduled for Aug. 10 in Fort Pierce.

De Oliveira's court appearance comes as Trump braces for possible charges stemming from investigations into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and it’s unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the case’s timeline.

The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents the former president took with him after he left the White House.

Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadn’t even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.

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