Trump aide Walt Nauta to be arraigned in Miami as part of classified documents case
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on June 27, 2023
(MIAMI) — The longtime aide to former President Donald Trump who was federally charged alongside him earlier this month is set to be arraigned Tuesday morning in Miami as part of the classified documents case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Walt Nauta, who first worked with Trump in the White House, is charged with six counts as part of the criminal case involving Trump’s handling of classified documents.
The charges include conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Nauta, 40, appeared in court in Miami with Trump earlier this month, but was not arraigned because he did not have local counsel. The pair sat with each other at the defendants’ table for the duration of that hearing, separated by Trump’s attorney.
Trump, who was indicted on 37 felony counts, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Nauta is not expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors allege that Nauta moved boxes containing classified documents around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate at Trump’s direction, in an effort to prevent the documents from being turned over to authorities.
In one instance, prosecutors allege that boxes were moved out of a storage room at the Palm Beach estate before Trump’s attorney searched the room for documents to hand over to investigators in compliance with a grand jury subpoena seeking their return.
According to the indictment, Nauta was seen on surveillance footage moving boxes.
Prosecutors also accuse Nauta of lying to investigators when questioned about his knowledge of the boxes’ whereabouts.
Nauta, a Guam native who enlisted in the Navy in 2001, worked in the Trump White House, where in 2021 he was promoted to the rank of Senior Chief Culinary Specialist, according to Navy records. Trump, according to investigators, subsequently promoted Nauta to be his valet, otherwise known as a “body man.”
After Trump left the White House and moved to Florida, Nauta left the Navy and continued to work for the former president. In August 2021, Nauta became Trump’s executive assistant, serving as his personal aide, a role in which he “reported to Trump, worked closely with Trump and traveled with Trump,” according to the federal indictment.
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