Global Courant
Walt Nauta, the longtime aide to former President Donald Trump who was indicted along with him in the special counsel’s classified documents case, pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment in Miami on Thursday.
Nauta, who first worked for Trump in the White House before accompanying him to Florida after Trump’s presidency, faces six charges as part of Trump’s classified documents trial. The charges include conspiracy to obstruct the course of justice and making false statements.
The longtime aide appeared at a federal courthouse in Miami on Thursday after his arraignment was repeatedly postponed, in part because he was unable to get local counsel to represent him. His plea was presented by Trump attorney Stan Woodward, and Nauta was represented by Woodward and local Florida attorney Sasha Dadan.
“I am very glad to see you here,” Judge Edwin Torres told them.
Nauta barely spoke during the hearing. When asked by the judge if he had a chance to review the charges, he said, “Yes, Your Honor.”
Woodward refrained from reading the indictment and requested a trial by jury. He also brought up a “registration problem” but did not elaborate.
The judge said he would work to get that cleared – pointing out that more proceedings are already scheduled that Judge Aileen Cannon awaits.
Walt Nauta, valet to former President Donald Trump and co-defendant in federal charges against Trump, arrives with attorney Stanley Woodward at the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building July 6, 2023 in Miami.
Alon Skuy/Getty Images
Special Counsel Jack Smith was not present at the hearing. Members of his team, including Jay Bratt and David Harbach, stood before the court on behalf of the government.
Nauta said nothing to reporters as he left the federal courthouse after the hearing.
Nauta, 40, first appeared in court with Trump in Miami in June, but was not charged because he lacked local representation. He and Trump sat together at the defendants’ table during the hearing, separated by Trump’s lawyer.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Nauta was set to face charges last week, but Woodward told the judge that Nauta still did not have a local attorney and was also unable to make it to Florida due to travel issues.
The judge last week warned Nauta’s lawyer that Thursday’s arraignment should be regarded as the “drop dead” deadline.
Nauta wanted to “express his sincere condolences to the court,” Woodward told the judge last week.
“He takes the allegations very seriously,” Woodward said.
Trump pleaded not guilty last month to 37 felony counts related to his handling of classified material after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from US nuclear secrets to the country’s defense capabilities. He has denied all allegations and condemned the probe as a political witch hunt.
Prosecutors allege that under Trump’s direction, Nauta moved boxes of classified documents around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in an attempt to prevent the documents from being turned over to authorities.
In one case, prosecutors allege that boxes were taken from a storage unit at the Palm Beach estate before Trump’s attorney searched the room for documents to hand over to investigators in accordance with a grand jury subpoena requesting their return.
According to the lawsuit, Nauta was seen on surveillance footage of moving boxes.
Nauta, a Guam native who enlisted in the Navy in 2001, worked at the Trump White House, where he was promoted to the rank of Senior Chief Culinary Specialist in 2021, according to Navy records. Trump then promoted Nauta to his valet, otherwise known as a “body man,” according to investigators.
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 and served as his personal assistant, a role in which he “reported to Trump, worked closely with Trump, and traveled with Trump,” according to the federal indictment.
Will Steakin of ABC News contributed to this report.
