WASHINGTON−Donald Trump said Friday that his longtime trusted aide Walt Nauta has been indicted by the “Thugs” at the Justice Department, bringing to light a potentially significant piece of the prosecution puzzle against the former president for his handling of classified documents from his time in the White House.
Trump issued the statement about his former White House aide on Truth Social, his social media platform, at 11:47 a.m. Friday. USA TODAY could not confirm his statements independently and immediate efforts to reach Nauta were unsuccessful. The Justice Department and Nauta’s lawyer also had no immediate comment.
It wasn’t clear from Trump’s posting what charges Nauta might be facing in connection with the case. Trump himself faces seven federal criminal counts, including mishandling classified documents and obstruction of justice, his lawyers have confirmed.
An indictment of Nauta in connection to the case would be significant because of his close relationship with Trump and his personal role in handling Trump’s classified documents.
According to the news reports, Nauta became a focus of the Justice Department investigation after surveillance footage showed him allegedly moving boxes from a Mar-a-Lago storage room during the period when prosecutors had ordered Trump to return classified government documents that they suspected he had brought with him to his South Florida estate.
Nauta also reportedly spoke to investigators at least twice before refusing further questioning, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Who is Walt Nauta?
Nauta was a former valet in the Trump White House who left that position to join the former president as a personal aide at Mar-a-Lago in early 2021. He was also known informally as Trump’s “body man,” or the person frequently at Trump’s side to attend to his needs and requests.
Trump has long described Nauta as being loyal and helpful, both during their time together at the White House and, later, at the former president’s Palm Beach estate and invite-only club.
Trump praised Nauta in his Truth Social post Friday, saying the Navy veteran “served proudly with me in the White House, retired as Senior Chief, and then transitioned into private life as a personal aide.”
“He has done a fantastic job!” Trump said. “They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about “Trump.”
Trump also described Nauta as “strong, brave, and a Great Patriot,” while again claiming the FBI and DOJ were “CORRUPT!”
More:Reports: Trump employees moved boxes at Mar-a-Lago day before officials sought documents
Why is Nauta of interest to investigators?
On June 2, 2022, a Mar-a-Lago worker, who has not been publicly identified, saw Nauta move boxes into a storage room, according to the The New York Times, which cited an unidentified source.
The worker allegedly helped Nauta move some of the boxes, but told federal prosecutors he didn’t know what was inside, according to The Times.
More:Meet Trump’s cast of record keepers, who have taken on significance amid Mar-a-Lago probe
That’s important because a day later, the Justice Department received an envelope from a Trump attorney at Mar-a-Lago with 38 documents − 17 marked top secret, 16 marked secret and five marked confidential.
DOJ also received a signed certification from Trump attorney Christina Bobb on June 3, 2022, attesting that there was a “diligent search” and no more classified documents were found at Mar-a-Lago.
Two months later, the FBI and DOJ searched Mar-a-Lago for additional material, and found more than 100 classified documents and 20 boxes of items from the Palm Beach estate that included 11 sets of classified documents.
Some documents were marked top secret, including one set deemed “Various classified/TS/SCI documents,” an abbreviation for “top secret/sensitive compartmented information.”
