Federal prosecutors have added another defendant in the classified documents case against Donald Trump, and they have leveled three more charges against the former president.
A maintenance worker at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct efforts to retrieve classified documents, according to court documents.
Carlos De Oliveira, head of maintenance at the property, joined Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, as defendants.
“Today, a superseding indictment was returned by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida that adds one defendant and four charges to the prior indictment filed against Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta,” the Justice Department said in a statement Thursday. “The superseding indictment adds a new Count charging Trump with one additional count of willful retention of National Defense Information.”
De Oliveira’s lawyer, John Irving, declined to comment when contacted by The New York Times.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty to 37 charges last month, faces one additional count of willful retention of national defense information.
The two other charges leveled Thursday were obstruction charges. Special counsel Jack Smith alleged Trump tried to delete surveillance video footage at the Mar-a-Lago resort in summer 2022.
In a statement, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the development another “desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration and Justice Department “to harass President Trump and those around him.”
“Deranged Jack Smith knows that they have no case and is casting about for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt and to get someone other than Donald Trump to run against Crooked Joe Biden,” Cheung, wrote, according to Fox News.
The news of a third defendant and additional charges comes as Smith is presenting evidence to a Washington grand jury about Trump’s alleged 2020 election interference.
If the grand jury indicts Trump, it would mark the third set of criminal charges against him since leaving the White House.
