When former President Donald Trump makes his appearance in federal court today, he will be accompanied by Walt Nauta, his former valet turned alleged co-conspirator. Nauta, a Navy veteran who served as Trump’s valet and later became his personal aide at Mar-a-Lago, now finds himself facing legal trouble alongside the former president. He is accused of moving boxes from the White House as directed by Trump and lying to investigators about it.
Nauta is the latest in a series of Trump loyalists who have faced potential imprisonment after working for the former president. Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime fixer and attorney, spent over a year in prison for his involvement in arranging payouts to women during the 2016 presidential race to keep their alleged sexual encounters with Trump from going public. Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO at the Trump Organization, recently completed a three-month sentence for receiving $1.7 million in undisclosed job perks.
“Loyalty to Donald Trump is one-sided, just like First Avenue in Manhattan,” said Cohen, who has since turned against Trump and cooperated with prosecutors in an attempt to secure leniency. “History has shown time and again that Donald cares only for himself.”
According to the indictment unsealed on Friday, Nauta played a crucial role in the alleged scheme with Trump, who faces 37 charges of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s retrieval efforts. The government claims that Nauta aided in packing and moving Trump’s boxes from the White House to various rooms in Mar-a-Lago as per Trump’s requests.
The indictment also alleges that Nauta discovered a storage room mishap where boxes fell over, spilling their contents onto the floor. Nauta captured and shared photographs of the scene, including a document marked for the exclusive viewing of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
Nauta became a significant figure in Trump’s investigation when FBI agents questioned him about the box movement within Mar-a-Lago prior to obtaining the search warrant for the property. However, like other individuals close to Trump, Nauta’s answers to law enforcement put him in legal jeopardy.
While prosecutors claim that Nauta moved boxes of documents to Trump’s residence at his direction, he falsely denied any knowledge of such actions to investigators, according to the indictment. When asked about the storage location of the boxes on the property, he responded, “I wish, I wish I could tell you. I don’t know. I honestly just don’t know.”
Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, declined to comment on the charges or Nauta’s cooperation with prosecutors but confirmed that both Nauta and Trump would be appearing together.
Nauta is facing six federal charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealing a document or record, and making false statements. Trump expressed support for Nauta and criticized the government’s actions, claiming they are trying to ruin Nauta’s life by hoping he will speak ill of him.
Ty Cobb, former White House attorney and Trump’s lawyer during the Russia investigation, expressed sympathy for Nauta, describing him as a dutiful employee who follows instructions. Cobb recalled Nauta’s thoughtfulness, such as substituting salmon for his lunches after realizing Cobb did not eat meat.
John Dean, former White House counsel who testified against President Richard Nixon during Watergate and later served prison time for obstructing justice, advised Nauta to cooperate with prosecutors and strike a deal in the government’s favor.
In addition to Nauta’s case, Cohen provided grand jury testimony regarding hush money payments that resulted in criminal charges against a former president for the first time. Trump was indicted in March on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with him. Trump denies the allegations and any criminal wrongdoing.
Weisselberg, who testified against the Trump Organization during his trial, stated on the witness stand that neither Trump nor his family had knowledge of the tax scheme, while prosecutors argued that Trump was fully aware.
Cohen advised Nauta to learn from his own experience and realize that loyalty to Trump is not worth the consequences. He predicted that Nauta would face the same fate as others who have been thrown under the bus due to their misguided loyalty to Trump.
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
