Trump’s aide pleads not guilty in secret documents affair

Washington, July 6, (dpa/GNA) – Former US president Donald Trump’s aide, also charged over the handling of secret government documents, has pleaded not guilty.

Walt Nauta appeared in federal court in Miami on Thursday, US media reported.

His lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf during the hearing. The prosecution accuses Nauta of taking away boxes of documents at Trump’s behest, following the end of his presidency. The prosecution sees this as a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Trump was indicted on federal charges in June, for keeping top-secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and failing to return them after being asked to do so.

In early August 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Trump’s mansion and seized several sets of classified documents.

The Republican presidential candidate pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in Miami in June. Nauta’s court date in Miami had been delayed because he initially did not have a lawyer licensed in Florida.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice published further parts of a document that was the basis for the order to search Trump’s estate. Large parts were already viewable after the search last year.

Now the document has been published again with fewer redactions. The released passages also show that surveillance camera footage of the building, showed a person interviewed by the FBI moving numerous boxes, thought to be Nauta.
GNA