Nearly a month after former president Donald Trump was arraigned on the 38-count federal indictment he and his longtime aide Walt Nauta are facing for allegedly unlawfully retaining national defence information and obstructing justice, the ex-president’s co-defendant has pleaded not guilty to charges of having assisted Mr Trump in concealing classified documents from the government.
Mr Nauta, a retired Navy chief petty officer who served as Mr Trump’s White House valet before following him home to Florida after the end of the ex-president’s term, is on his own charged with a single count of making a false statement to federal investigators. He is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and with violations of four other federal laws along with Mr Trump, who also pleaded not guilty to all of them at his arraignment last month.
