The DOJ also indicted Trump associate Walt Nauta, a Navy veteran:
An associate of Donald Trump was charged alongside the former president in the indictment returned Thursday in the investigation into the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to people familiar with the matter.A former military valet, Walt Nauta, who went to work at the Florida resort after working in the Trump White House, has been a key figure in the investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents at the resort. A lawyer for Nauta on Friday declined to comment.Trump was charged on Thursday with seven counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, which bars the misuse of classified information, as well as obstruction and false statements. It isn’t clear what charges the other person indicted would face.
Nauta came to the DOJ’s attention when a camera caught him moving boxes:
Nauta has long been a focus of that investigation, after he was seen on surveillance footage moving boxes from a storage room before and after investigators issued a May subpoena seeking the return of all government documents in Trump’s possession, The Wall Street Journal reported. Natua told investigators that he did so at Trump’s request.Investigators spoke with Nauta at least twice and asked him to submit to further questioning, in part to clarify what prosecutors believed to be contradictory statements. He refused further questioning, the Journal reported, out of concerns about whether prosecutors are considering charges against him.
“I have just learned that the ‘Thugs’ from the Department of Injustice will be Indicting a wonderful man, Walt Nauta, a member of the U.S. Navy, who served proudly with me in the White House, retired as Senior Chief, and then transitioned into private life as a personal aide,” wrote Trump. “He has done a fantastic job! They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about “Trump.” He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!”
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