Darren Lyn
06 July 2023•Update: 07 July 2023
HOUSTON, United States
Former Donald Trump aide Walt Nauta entered a plea of not guilty in federal court Thursday on charges he helped the ex-president hide classified documents at his Florida resort.
Nauta faces six counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, false statements and withholding and concealing documents, according to multiple news outlets.
Prosecutors allege that Nauta moved dozens of boxes containing classified documents per Trump's orders at the former president's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach and then lied to federal investigators about what he had done.
According to investigators, during the August 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid, Nauta was allegedly shown on surveillance footage shuffling boxes similar to those that carried classified documents from the storage room where they were held to an unknown location.
Nauta appeared in Miami federal court along with Trump for a June 13 arraignment but had to reschedule his court appearance due to not having a lawyer licensed to practice in the state of Florida.
Nauta is a Navy veteran who worked as a valet during Trump's presidency, then began working as the former president's aide after Trump left office.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts last month for allegedly retaining national security records without authorization and obstructing justice.
Prosecutors have requested they would like to begin Trump's trial in December.
