The valet of former president Donald Trump entered a not guilty plea in the case involving the sensitive materials in a federal courtroom in Miami.
Waltine ‘Walkt’ Nauta, 40, showed up at the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building on Thursday morning to answer charges that he helped Trump conceal secret documents that the former president took to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House.
Six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding and concealing documents, and making false statements, were dismissed when he entered a not guilty plea. When US Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres asked Nauta if he had reviewed the accusations against him, Nauta just said “yes.”
Nauta’s lawyer Stanley Woodward entered Nauta’s plea on his behalf. His attorney in Florida who is assisting in the case, Sasha Dadan, also appeared alongside him.
The arraignment took only a few minutes and Nauta and his two lawyers then went into a conference room without speaking to reporters.
Upon arriving at the courthouse, Nauta did not talk to reporters and only smiled. He wore sunglasses and a navy suit.
Prosecutors claim that Nauta hid boxes of records as Trump’s lawyers were looking for classified material that the Justice Department was seeking. Nauta also lied to investigators in an interview, according to prosecutors.
Nauta first appeared in court alongside Trump on June 13 but was not arraigned because he did not have a lawyer representing him who could practice in Florida. Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges relating to his alleged mishandling of classified documents that day.
The arraignment for Nauta was scheduled for June 27 but postponed because he did not have an attorney able to practice in Florida.
It is not clear when the trial for Trump and Nauta will start. US District Judge Aileen Cannon initially scheduled it to begin on August 14, but prosecutors requested that it be delayed until December 11.
Trump is the first former president to be hit with criminal charges in federal and state courts.
If convicted, Nauta faces up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charge.