Trump aide Walt Nauta pleads not guilty as former president rails against special counsel

Walt Nauta, Donald Trump’s valet and "body man," pleaded not guilty Thursday to conspiracy charges stemming from the Justice Department’s investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents.

Prosecutors allege that Nauta helped Trump hide documents at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., last year.

Appearing before a federal judge in Miami, Nauta pleaded not guilty to all six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Attorney Stanley Woodward entered the plea on Nauta's behalf.

According to investigators, Nauta moved boxes containing classified material at least five times between May and June 2022. During that time, Nauta allegedly removed a total of 64 boxes from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, but returned with less than half that figure. He also is accused of lying to investigators during a voluntary interview.

How we got here

Last month, Trump pleaded not guilty to all felony charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s 37-count indictment, including the willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Nauta, 40, first worked for Trump in the White House before accompanying him to Florida following his presidency.

His arraignment was delayed twice. Nauta was supposed to be arraigned alongside Trump on June 13 but he did not have local counsel, which is required in the Southern District of Florida, so it was rescheduled for June 27. That day, Nauta’s flight from Newark to Miami was canceled due to bad weather, and his lawyer informed the judge that he had yet to find local counsel to represent him.

Security video shows boxes were moved at Mar-a-Lago: DOJ

On Wednesday, the DOJ released some previously redacted portions of a search warrant application that was used to authorize the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago.

They revealed that surveillance footage showed dozens of boxes being relocated by a Trump aide believed to be Nauta in the days before the FBI executed the search warrant.

“The movement of boxes by Nauta was detailed in last month's indictment,” the Associated Press noted, “but its inclusion in the search warrant affidavit helps explain why the Justice Department felt it had probable cause to search Trump's home on Aug. 8, 2022 and why investigators were concerned that documents were being intentionally withheld from them.”

An initial trial date for both Trump and Nauta had been set for Aug. 14, but prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to delay the trial until Dec. 11.

Trump calls special counsel a ‘crackhead’

The former president and current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has repeatedly attacked the multiple federal investigations into his conduct, and the special counsel overseeing them.

On Wednesday, following the confirmation that cocaine was recently found at the White House, Trump lashed out at Smith in a post on Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform.

“Has Deranged Jack Smith, the crazy, Trump hating Special Prosecutor, been seen in the area of the COCAINE?” Trump wrote. “He looks like a crackhead to me!”