Trump Body Man Will Be 'Star Witness' in Classified Documents Criminal Case: Walt Nauta Admitted to Feds He ‘Moved Boxes Under the Direction’ of Ex-Prez
June 9 2023, Published 7:25 a.m. ET
A valet for Donald Trump — the man who fetches his Diet Coke and feeds his 12 cans per day habit — is set to become a star witness in the classified documents case following the former president’s indictment on Thursday, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Walt Nauta, a Navy veteran, is considered Trump’s butler and body man and worked in closer physical proximity to the former commander-in-chief than almost any other aide.
According to multiple sources who spoke to RadarOnline.com, Nauta’s testimony to the feds in the lead-up to the indictment — which one insider described as “flip-flopping on the facts” — will become crucial to the Department of Justice prosecution.
When first questioned by FBI agents in spring 2022, one source said, Nauta initially denied any knowledge that sensitive documents were being stored at Trump’s private members club Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla.
But when interrogated for a second time, Nauta backflipped and admitted he had moved boxes — under the direction of Trump, added the source.
Tellingly, the order from Trump supposedly came down after prosecutors had sent a subpoena to the former president seeking the return of all documents marked classified in May 2022.
“Walt Nauta is going to be a star witness and whether Trump likes it or not, he poses a threat,” the source told RadarOnline.com.
The charges against Trump will reportedly include willfully retaining the national defense documents, conspiring to obstruct justice, withholding the documents, corruptly concealing the records, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal, and making false statements.
Nauta will be central to proving the most serious charges, including whether he “willfully retained the documents, misled government officials, hid the classified documents while investigators were searching for them,” the case insider said.
If convicted, Trump could face up to 75 years in jail.
“The feds also need to prove Trump tampered with evidence, either by altering, destroying, or concealing the documents with an intent to obstruct,” the source added.
“In this regard, the feds will be relying on Nauta in relation to what Mr. Trump may or may not have ordered him to do.
“We also know the feds would not have brought a charge like obstruction unless it was nailed. To have that degree of confidence, they need corroborating testimony and specific evidence.
“They must also be convinced they will win at trial.”
The statute on concealing a document carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and/or a fine.
The scheming to conceal charge centers on the crime of knowingly hiding classified documents. It carries a maximum sentence of 5 years and/or a fine.
Nauta, the source added, will be able to testify whether Trump resisted requests to return classified documents, unlike President Joe Biden and former Vice-President Mike Pence, who both handed over all restricted material as soon as it was located.
Nauta will also be crucial to proving whether or not Trump obstructed law enforcement efforts to retrieve them, the source said.
But speaking to RadarOnline.com, the source cautioned: “Nauta will become a star witness — in more ways than one.”
Trump’s team will be relying on Mr. Nauta to allege prosecutorial misconduct and help build their case that this prosecution is tainted and a political witch-hunt, another source added.
It was reported this week that an attorney for Nauta, Stanley Woodward, had submitted a letter under seal with the chief federal judge in Washington. In it, he alleged prosecutorial misconduct by Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s chief of counterintelligence.
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Woodward claimed Bratt noted the attorney had applied for a judgeship in Washington, D.C. and implied that his cooperation could help make it happen in the Biden administration.
The indictment of Trump, filed in Federal District Court in Miami, is the first time in American history a former president has faced federal charges.
In a video message late on Thursday posted to Truth Social, Trump said he was innocent and vowed to “fight” the indictment.
Trump previously claimed he declassified everything that came from the White House, adding that a president has the authority to declassify material “even by thinking about it.”
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