Who is Walt Nauta, the Trump aide also facing charges today?
Donald Trump’s appearance before a federal judge on Tuesday will draw a circus and possibly thousands of protesters.
But another court hearing of a similar size in the same case may go under the radar.
Walt Nauta, the ex-president’s right-hand man and long-time White House golf partner, also faces charges in the Mar-a-Lago secret documents case.
The 40-year-old Navy veteran faces six charges, including conspiracy and making false statements, after prosecutors claimed he played a key role in Trump’s plan to refuse to return classified documents.
He walked behind the former president from Trump Force One in Miami on Monday afternoon to prepare for his day in court.
The indictment says he was caught on surveillance footage moving boxes of sensitive files from a storage facility at Trump’s request before and after the Justice Department issued a subpoena for the return of the documents in May 2022.
His boss faces 37 charges, including willful withholding of national defense information and obstruction of justice.
Walt Nauta, Donald Trump’s aide, steps out of Trump Force One in Miami on Monday to prepare for his day in federal court over the classified documents allegations
Trump poses with supporters in Doral on Monday evening. His aide Walt Nauta is seen on the far left, in a red tie: Nauta has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice with Trump
Despite the allegations, Nauta has remained on Trump’s team, traveling to Georgia and North Carolina this weekend.
While he was often with Trump during his tumultuous tenure in the White House, he went under the radar and kept to himself.
What he was known for was fetching the former president’s Diet Cokes—sometimes at the touch of a button—and preparing his meals.
Later in his employment, he would be responsible, among other things, for moving boxes of classified documents, the indictment said.
He sided with Trump less than 24 hours after prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging he was part of the ex-president’s plan to hide classified documents from investigators.
During an interview with the Washington Post in March, his family called him a “good boy.”
“He’s not a problem kid. He’s there to enjoy his life, not to cause trouble.’
Nauta, the ex-president’s right-hand man and long-time White House golf partner, also faces charges in the Mar-a-Lago secret documents case
While other Trump aides fled in the wake of Jan. 6, Nauta stayed by his side and joined him as a personal assistant at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
His mother Pauline said a testament to his personality was the fact that he was selected to work alongside Trump in the first place.
Now he is embroiled in one of the largest cases in the history of the Justice Department.
His aunt Elly Nauta told De Post that everything he did was “at the direction of the former president.”
“All he was told was to put the boxes where they were supposed to be,” she added.
Born in Guam, Nauta enlisted in the Navy in 2001. He would become Senior Chief Culinary Specialist and then went on to work in the cafeteria of the White House under Trump.
Trump promoted him to his military aide. He essentially became his servant or “body man.”
While many Trump aides fled in the aftermath of Jan. 6, Nauta stayed on track and moved to Florida to continue serving as his aide.
He retired from military service, so he continued the bond she had formed with the president.
It was his work with the former president of Mar-a-Lago that has put him in the crosshairs of prosecutors.
In December 2021, Nauta found some documents spilled on a floor. Prosecutors say it contained Five Eyes intelligence – or information shared between the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States
Although Nauta (far left) was a regular with Trump during his tumultuous tenure in the White House, he went under the radar and kept to himself
In December 2021, Nauta found some documents spilled on a floor. Prosecutors say it contained Five Eyes intelligence – or information shared between the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
The complaint states that he sent colleagues a photo of the spill. The image was included in the indictment.
When prosecutors asked Nauta about the trick to moving the boxes, he said, “I don’t know. Not me. I honestly just don’t know.
This, prosecutors say, shows he was lying.
Despite a dangerous legal situation, Nauta has remained loyal to Trump.
The New York Times reported that prosecutors pressured him to cooperate, but he declined.