A Donald Trump “body man” has been indicted in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s mishandling of classified documents.
Walt Nauta, a longtime Trump aide, is the second person to be indicted in the investigation, according to a Wall Street Journal report that was soon confirmed by other media.
Mr Trump immediately weighed in via a Truth Social post.
“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,” he ranted.
Mr Trump added that federal investigators were “trying to destroy his life”.
“He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!”
Details of the indictment were not immediately known.
Mr Nauta, a former White House aide who later joined Mr Trump’s staff at Mar-a-Lago, was with the former president at his Bedminster private club when news of the indictment broke on Thursday, according to CNN.
The former military valet’s involvement in shifting boxes of classified material from Mr Trump’s Florida resort had been under scrutiny for months, according to the CNN report.
Mr Nauta, 40, emerged as an important witness in the special counsel’s classified documents investigation last year.
He reportedly helped a maintenance worker move boxes after a subpoena had been issued, prior to an FBI raid last August.
According to the Washington Post, Mr Nauta initially denied knowledge of classified materials being kept at Mar-a-Lago when questioned by investigators.
However after surveillance footage seized by the FBI reportedly contradicted his account, Mr Nauta reportedly admitted in a second interview that he had moved boxes at Mr Trump’s direction.
He later stopped cooperating with investigators, according to CNN.
Mr Trump was indicted on seven separate federal counts understood to include conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, and unlawful retention of national defence information on Thursday night.
He will appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday. If convicted, he could face a maximum combined sentence of 100 years in prison.
Mr Trump has continued to claim his innocence in a series of Truth Social posts.
Mr Nauta, who grew up in Guam, remained close to Mr Trump even after he became a target of the DOJ’s investigation.
In an interview in March, his aunt Elly Nauta said he had told his mother there was “nothing to worry about”.
“He didn’t do anything wrong. All he was instructed was to put the boxes where they were supposed to go,” Elly Nauta said.
Meanwhile two of Mr Trump’s lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned on Friday.
