Special counsel Jack Smith’s team has accused the aide, Carlos De Oliveira, of conspiring with Trump and another aide, Walt Nauta, to thwart an investigation into Trump’s retention of the documents. Trump and Nauta have also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The criminal case is one of several Trump faces as he mounts a campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Trump, who was indicted yesterday in Georgia on criminal charges, decries the probes as politically motivated.

De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges, ABC News reported. De Oliveira’s two earlier proceedings were delayed because he had not obtained local counsel.

Prosecutors have accused Trump of taking top-secret documents with him when he left the White House in 2021 and storing them haphazardly at Mar-a-Lago, including in a bathroom, shower, and ballroom.

Trump also showed classified information to people at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, who was not authorised to see it, according to prosecutors.

Trump pleaded not guilty during a June arraignment to dozens of counts including unauthorised retention of national defence information, obstruction of justice, and false statements.