2023-06-27 06:18:43
MIAMI (AP) — A Donald Trump butler is scheduled to be indicted Tuesday on charges of helping the former president hide classified documents that had been sought by the Justice Department.
Earlier this month, Walt Nauta appeared alongside Trump in a 38-count indictment brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith. Although Trump has already pleaded not guilty to all the alleged crimes, a judge delayed Nauta’s hearing to give him time to find a lawyer in Florida.
The indictment charges Nauta with conspiring with Trump to hide documents the former president took from the White House to his Florida property, Mar-a-Lago.
The prosecution alleges that Nauta, directed by the former president, moved boxes of documents with confidentiality seals so that they would not be found by a Trump lawyer in charge of searching the house to find the files and return them to the government. That, according to prosecutors, resulted in the false statement to the Justice Department that a “diligent search” of the files had been conducted and that all those named in a subpoena had been returned.
Nauta is a Navy veteran who served Trump refreshments as a butler at the White House before being hired as a personal assistant at Mar-a-Lago. He often appears at the former president’s side and was even part of the entourage with whom he went to a Miami court for his arraignment earlier this month, later accompanying him on a stop at the famous Cuban restaurant Versailles, where he helped rein in supporters eager to take selfies with the former president.
On the other hand, the Department of Justice proposed last week December 11 as the date of Trump’s trial, requesting the postponement of the initial date set by a judge for August.
And on Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied a Justice Department request to withhold the names of 84 potential witnesses she wants Trump ordered not to contact while the case progresses.
The magistrate indicated that, in her opinion, the Justice Department did not explain why it needed to present the list to the court or why it was necessary not to disclose it publicly.
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Tucker reported from Washington.
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