Ex-Trump aide charged over national security document mishandling

A former aide to ex-President Donald Trump, Walt Nauta, has been charged alongside Trump for the alleged mishandling of national security documents. Nauta, a US Navy veteran, served as a White House military valet during Trump’s presidency and later became his assistant at his Florida mansion after Trump left office. Nauta is facing six charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding records, concealing documents, and making false statements.

Trump defended Nauta on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating that Nauta was a “wonderful man” and accusing officials at the US Department of Justice of attempting to destroy the aide’s life. Trump wrote that Nauta “served proudly with me in the White House, retired as Senior Chief, and then transitioned into private life as a personal aide.”

According to the indictment, Trump directed Nauta to move boxes that were a focus of the investigation from a storage room and to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury. Nauta, who was born in Agat, Guam, a US territory, enlisted in the US Navy in 2001. Navy records indicate that he rose through the ranks to become a Senior Chief Culinary Specialist in 2021. Nauta became an executive assistant to Trump in August 2021 and continued to serve as an aide to the former president at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

Nauta’s close relationship with Trump has made him a target of the justice department’s investigation into classified documents that the ex-president took with him to Florida after leaving the White House. In an exclusive interview with the Washington Post before the charges were filed, Nauta’s family members in Guam described him as a “good boy” who moved to the United States “to enjoy his life, not to cause problems.”

Pauline Torre, Nauta’s mother, said that her son’s selection to serve the president “says it all.” However, Nauta’s aunt, Elly Nauta, stated that he did everything “at the direction of the former president,” adding, “All he was instructed was to put the boxes where they were supposed to go.”