Court records or announcements from the U.S. Department of Justice

Justice Department Drops Case Against Trump Associates Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira in Classified Documents Probe

Jan 29, 2025, 04:21 PM

The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to end criminal proceedings against Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, two associates of President Donald Trump, in a case related to the mishandling of classified documents. Nauta, Trump's valet, and De Oliveira, the Mar-a-Lago property manager, were charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents that Trump took with him after leaving the White House. The case against them was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in July, citing the illegal appointment of special counsel Jack Smith by the Justice Department. Following Trump's November election win, the Justice Department dropped its case against Trump due to a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents, but continued to appeal the dismissal of charges against Nauta and De Oliveira. On Wednesday, prosecutors informed the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of their decision to withdraw the appeal, effectively ending the case against the two co-defendants.