Former President Donald Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta pleaded not guilty in a Florida federal court on Thursday after two previous attempts to arraign him in the classified documents case were postponed.
A co-defendant in the case with Trump, Nauta is accused of helping the former president hide top national security files from investigators after Trump left the White House. Trump pleaded not guilty in June to 37 felony counts after more than 100 classified documents were recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to the indictment.
Stanley Woodward, an attorney for Nauta, entered the plea on his behalf, waived the reading of the complaint and requested a jury trial.
Nauta said just three words in court, after U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres asked whether the longtime Trump aide had read the charges against him and was able to consult with a lawyer. “Yes, your honor,” he responded.
Nauta’s search for legal counsel had twice delayed his arraignment last month.
The hearing lasted roughly five minutes.
Asked as he left the court about his difficulty finding local counsel, Nauta did not respond.
Unknown ahead of Thursday’s appearance was whether Nauta, a military valet in Trump’s White House who followed the former president to Florida in his post-presidency, had found local counsel.
By the time of his appearance Thursday, Nauta had hired Sasha Dadan, a Florida-based attorney, according to a source familiar with the decision.
Judge Torres postponed Nauta’s earlier arraignment when he did not have a permanent Florida attorney for his first hearing. The second hearing Nauta missed because of bad weather.
Nauta faces six charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, and making false statements, according to the federal indictment, which was unsealed in June.
Nauta did not enter a plea when he appeared alongside Trump in court, who pleaded not guilty to all charges.