Walt Nauta, a former White House valet and current aide to Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he helped the former president hide top-secret documents that Trump took with him from the White House in 2021. Nauta’s plea was entered by his attorney, Stanley Woodward, during a brief arraignment at a Miami federal courthouse. Nauta’s Florida-based lawyer, Sasha Dadan, was also present.
Prosecutors allege that Nauta hid boxes of documents from Trump’s lawyers who were searching Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort, for classified material sought by the US Justice Department. Nauta is also accused of lying to investigators during a voluntary interview. The charges against Nauta include six counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, false statements, and withholding and concealing documents.
Nauta’s initial appearance alongside Trump on June 13 was delayed due to a lack of a lawyer licensed to practice in Florida. His arraignment was postponed a second time in late June for the same reason. Dadan, a former public defender, is a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for the state’s House of Representatives in 2018.
Walt Nauta (Via Walt Nauta/Twitter)
Woodward, based in Washington, has represented others in Trump’s circle, including former aides Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro, as well as several defendants charged in the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. Trump, who is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal counts for allegedly retaining national security documents without authorization and obstructing justice.
Prosecutors have asked US District Judge Aileen Cannon to delay the trial until December 11, citing the complexities surrounding the use of highly classified documents as evidence. Cannon has set a July 14 hearing to discuss how classified information in the case will be handled. Special Counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of risking national secrets by taking thousands of sensitive papers with him when he left the White House and storing them in a haphazard manner at Mar-a-Lago and his New Jersey golf club.
In addition to the documents case, Trump is charged in New York with allegedly falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign. He pleaded not guilty to both sets of charges. Trump denies wrongdoing and says the investigations are part of a political plot against him.
