Trump valet pleads not guilty in classified documents case

Donald Trump's valet, Walt Nauta, appeared before a judge on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to conspiring with the former president to obstruct the investigation into his possession of classified documents at his Florida estate.

But the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira, was again unable to enter a plea in the case because he still has not secured a Florida-based lawyer, which is required under local court rules.

The magistrate judge also formally accepted the latest not guilty plea of Mr Trump, who told the judge in court papers last week that he is not guilty and waived his right to appear at the hearing in person.

Mr De Oliveira and Mr Nauta appeared in the federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, on an updated indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith alleging they schemed with the Republican former president to try to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance video sought by investigators.

Mr Trump, Mr Nauta and Mr De Olivera face charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice in the case stemming from secret government documents found at Mr Trump's Palm Beach club after he left the White House in 2021.

Mr Nauta and Mr Trump were charged in June and previously pleaded not guilty, but a new indictment handed down late last month added more charges and Mr De Oliveira to the case.

Mr De Oliveira made an initial appearance in court in July but did not enter a plea because he had not retained local counsel. The judge on Thursday set a new arraignment date for August 15.

Donald Trump’s legal woes – in pictures

The former president was already charged with dozens of felony counts, and the indictment added new counts of obstruction and wilful retention of national defence information.

It is one of three different criminal cases Mr Trump is facing this year as he tries to reclaim the White House in 2024.

He is also gearing up for a possible fourth indictment, in a case out of Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged efforts by him and his Republican allies to illegally meddle in the 2020 election in that state.

The county district attorney, Fani Willis, a Democrat, has signalled that any indictments in the case would probably come this month.

Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has characterised all the cases against him as politically motivated.

He pleaded not guilty in Washington’s federal court last week in a second case brought by Mr Smith that accuses him of conspiring with allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Mr Smith's team is expected on Thursday to propose a trial date for that case. Mr Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in a New York state case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 election and in May in the classified documents case.

The updated indictment in the documents case centres on surveillance footage at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

The former president is alleged to have asked for the footage to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House.

Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Mr Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room – an act alleged to have been done at Mr Trump’s direction and in an effort to hide records not only from investigators but also from Mr Trump’s own lawyers.

Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organisation in June 2022, prosecutors say, Mr De Oliveira asked an information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee “the boss” wanted it deleted.

When the employee said he did not believe he was able to do that, Mr De Oliveira insisted the “boss” wanted it done, asking: “What are we going to do?”

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

Mr De Oliveira's Washington lawyer, John Irving, told reporters after the last hearing that he looks forward to seeing what potential evidence the Justice Department has, and he declined to comment about whether Mr De Oliveira has been asked to give evidence against Mr Trump.

The new indictment also charges Mr Trump with illegally holding on to a document he is alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

RESULTS

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5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
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6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
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7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan

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Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Countries recognising Palestine

France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra

More on Quran memorisation:

Mastering the memory: the phenomena of Quran memorisation

Teenager girls recite the Quran flawlessly, despite not speaking Arabic

HEADLINE HERE

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