Donald Trump's Co-Defendant Walt Nauta Loses Florida Attorney Over Payment Dispute, Postpones Arraignment
Jun. 27 2023, Published 7:50 p.m. ET
Donald Trump's personal aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta lost his top choice of legal counsel in Florida due to a payment dispute, which resulted in his federal arraignment being delayed for a second time, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In early June, Nauta appeared alongside Trump in Miami, Florida, where they were arrested on charges related to the Justice Department's missing classified documents probe.
While Trump completed his arraignment process, Nauta's lack of legal representation prevented him from entering a plea in his arraignment, which was subsequently pushed to June 27.
Weeks after he first appeared at the federal courthouse in Miami, Nauta failed to secure legal representation admitted to practice in Florida's Southern District.
According to two sources close to the case, Trump's co-defendant clashed with his top choice attorney regarding payment.
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The insiders claimed that the night before Nauta was expected to appear in court for his postponed arraignment, the attorney changed his legal fee rates. Nauta's slated defense team decided on the eve of his arraignment that a higher amount was required to defend Trump's aide.
Despite Nauta's team being paid for by the GOP frontrunner's political action committee, Save America, an agreement could not be reached.
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While the exact pay rate that spurred the dispute was unknown, it wasn't the first time that Nauta ran into issues when trying to secure legal representation. A separate Florida attorney, who also considered representing Nauta, backed out due to professional risks associated with the high-profile case.
Nauta was not singled out as being a risky client either.
Days leading up to his Florida arraignment, Trump also struggled to find an attorney willing to accept him as a client.
Not only did the ex-president need a lawyer who was admitted to practice in Southern Florida, but he required counsel that was familiar with national security and was eligible for a security clearance required by the court due to the case matter.
Trump and his existing hodge-podge defense team conducted eleventh-hour interviews of prospective attorneys to no avail.