MIAMI — Waltine “Walt” Nauta, the man charged alongside Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents, pleaded not guilty Thursday to his alleged role in assisting the former president conceal dozens of boxes prosecutors say contain some of the nation’s secrets.
Thursday’s hearing was Nauta’s third scheduled appearance in Miami federal court and the first in which he was accompanied by a Florida attorney, as is required by state law to enter a plea. Nauta did not appear for his last scheduled arraignment on June 27 due to a canceled flight from New Jersey the day before. His first scheduled arraignment on June 13 with Trump was postponed because he did not yet have a local lawyer.
Nauta is represented by Sasha Dadan, a defense attorney based in Fort Pierce, where the trial is scheduled to be held on Aug. 14.
Nauta’s plea follows the release of more details contained in the search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property almost a year ago. The warrant describes a person, identified as witness 5, moving dozens of boxes in May and June last year from a room where federal prosecutors say Trump kept the boxes. Witness 5 is believed to be Nauta.
Presiding U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon is currently weighing a motion by federal prosecutors to move the trial date to mid-December.
Nauta, the indictment claims, became Trump’s executive assistant in August 2021. Prosecutors say Nauta and other Trump employees had already begun moving boxes and materials from the White House to Mar-a-Lago at Trump’s instruction.
The indictment charges Nauta with six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to investigators. Prosecutors say the Trump aide played a key role in concealing classified documents, including some of the nation’s most guarded military and intelligence secrets, as the investigation into Trump’s possession of the files deepened and government archivists sought their return.
Nauta appearance did not draw attention, demonstrators as did Trump’s
Nauta’s arraignment on Thursday did not draw the crowds and attention that punctuated Trump’s court appearance three weeks earlier.
Trump’s day in the Miami courtroom was part legal proceeding, part public spectacle. Roughly 1,000 people demonstrated outside on the grounds of the facility and the surrounding streets in downtown Miami.
Supporters’ chants of “We want Trump!” were countered by opponents’ cries of “Trump goes to jail!” as others in cars and trucks paraded and honked horns. In the courtroom, the ex-president watched, arms folded, as his attorneys, Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Nauta’s case wasn’t on the docket that day, but he was invoked in the proceedings in part over a disagreement between the attorneys and presiding Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman over the terms of Trump’s pretrial release.
Goodman believed Trump should be prohibited from communicating with co-defendant Nauta, witnesses and alleged victims ahead of his trial. Trump’s attorneys argued that the condition was unnecessary and impractical, given that many of Trump’s employees and the people he interacts with every day are potential witnesses.
Trump’s attorneys said it was “unfair” to bar people from communicating with the former president when some depend on him for their livelihoods. The attorneys and judge ultimately agreed to a modified “no-contact order,” in which Trump cannot communicate with the aforementioned people specifically about the criminal charges he faces. Other topics are fair game.
Tuesday’s proceedings come amid a seemingly marked shift in U.S. public opinion in which a clear majority of Americans acknowledged they are troubled by the nature of the charges against Trump.
An NBC News poll released late last month again showed a majority of those polled saying they have “major or moderate” significant concerns about Trump’s presidential candidacy in light of the indictment. Just 34% of those polled said they viewed Trump positively, while 56% said they had negative feelings for him.
But polls also show Trump gaining favor among GOP voters since the two indictments, the one in Florida and a case in New York state where filed.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
