MIAMI (AP) — A valet Donald Trump is set to be indicted Tuesday on charges of helping the former president hide classified documents the Justice Department wanted back.
Walt Nauta was Charged earlier this month Alongside Trump in a 38-count indictment filed by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith. Although Trump has already pleaded not guilty to the charges, a judge has delayed indictment against Nauta to give him time to find a Florida-based attorney.
The indictment alleges Nauta conspired with Trump to hide documents he took from the White House to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
Prosecutors allege that Nauta, on orders from the former president, moved boxes of documents marked as classified to avoid being found by a Trump attorney tasked with searching the home for classified files to be returned to the government. This, prosecutors said, led to a misrepresentation to the Justice Department that a “careful search” for classified documents had been conducted and that all documents responding to a subpoena had been returned.
Nauta is a Navy veteran who picked up Trump’s Diet-Cola as his White House valet before joining him as personal aide at Mar-a-Lago. He is a regular at Trump’s side and even traveled with Trump’s motorcade to the Miami courthouse earlier this month, where he performed there He then accompanied him to a stop at the city’s famous Cuban restaurant, Versailleswhere he helped attract fans keen to take selfies with the former president.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department last week proposed a Dec. 11 trial date for Trump, requesting an extension from a judge’s original August date.
And on Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied a Justice Department request to withhold the names of 84 potential witnesses Trump is said to have no further contact with as the trial proceeds.
She said she believes the Justice Department has not explained why it needs to submit the list to the court or why it is necessary to protect the list from the public.
Tucker reported from Washington.
