In the course of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the inappropriate handling of secret documents, a Trump White House official has also been indicted after the former US president.
Walt Nauta is the second person to be charged as part of the investigation by the special counsel, according to two sources familiar with the indictment, after Trump was charged on seven charges on Thursday.
The attorney for Nauta declined to comment while Nauta joined Trump last week at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, according to CNN.
Many charges against Nauta have not been made public.
In response to Nauta’s indictment, Trump wrote on his social media Friday, “They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about ‘Trump.’ He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!”
The investigation concentrated on Nauta’s part in moving boxes holding sensitive information to Trump’s Florida club.
Nauta helped a maintenance worker move the cartons before the FBI executed a search warrant on the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach last August.
In accordance with court documents from the previous year, the FBI discovered more than 100 documents marked as classified during the search.
This followed weeks after a Trump lawyer admitted that the Trump campaign had complied with a subpoena issued in May requesting the production of all documents marked as classified.
As previously reported by CNN, investigators found security footage showing Nauta and the employee transporting boxes of classified data about the resort.
Nauta had spoken with investigators several times throughout the investigation, initially claiming he hadn’t handled any boxes or confidential information at Mar-a-Lago.
Additionally, Nauta changed his narrative once the surveillance film was made available, and the assistant eventually stopped speaking to investigators last autumn after switching counsel.
