Walt Nauta’s Facebook page includes a smiling portrait of the clean-cut, former Navy man in a dark pinstriped suit and tie in front of an American flag, a photo he posted in November.
He looks so sharp in the picture that a friend commented, “Walt Nauta for President 2024!”
Mr. Nauta, 40, served in the White House as a military valet and loyal personal aide to President Trump. He is now charged with six criminal counts and faces up to 90 years in prison as the only person other than Mr. Trump to be indicted on mishandling classified documents.
The Justice Department says Mr. Nauta concealed documents from investigators at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and gave misleading statements to authorities in the long-running probe.
Mr. Trump and many others say prosecutors charged Mr. Nauta to compel him to flip and testify against the former president.
“He has done a fantastic job!” Mr. Trump said in a social media post. “They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about ‘Trump.’”
Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro tweeted, “This patriot and veteran is the pawn in weaponized DOJ’s game to get Nauta to turn against his Boss.”
The unprecedented criminal case is far from Agat, Guam, population 4,900, a village in the U.S. territory in the South Pacific where Waltine Torre Nauta was born.
Relatives have described him as a “good boy” growing up, and he enlisted in the Navy in 2001.
From 2012 to 2021, Mr. Nauta served in Washington as part of the Presidential Food Service, according to his service record. He eventually served in the military-staffed cafeteria for the Trump White House and rose through the Navy ranks to become a senior chief culinary specialist in 2021.
As president, Mr. Trump elevated Mr. Nauta to a role as his military aide, also called a “body man.” According to the federal indictment, Mr. Nauta helped pack boxes for Mr. Trump as he left the White House.
Mr. Nauta retired from the Navy after 20 years of service and became Mr. Trump’s private executive assistant in August 2021.
SEE ALSO: Trump rejected lawyer’s push to reach settlement with DOJ: Report
Acquaintances have described Mr. Nauta as a thoroughly loyal, trusted and low-key aide to Mr. Trump.
“The proudest moment he ever had was being named valet to the president, and sadly, the president he got named valet for was Trump,” said Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb.
Mr. Cobb described Mr. Nauta as “dutiful” and said he feels sorry for him in the legal predicament.
“I think Walt is easy prey for the president because this is a dedicated patriot,” he said.
Acquaintances of Mr. Nauta contacted by The Washington Times declined to comment for this report.
Mr. Cobb said of the Trump aide’s decision not to cooperate with prosecutors, “I think it’s really sad that people were not able to convince him of his misplaced loyalty. He should be a witness. He shouldn’t be a defendant. But you can only dangle that opportunity for so long before you have to shoot. So I think it’s tragic.”
Some of Mr. Nauta’s relatives in Guam weren’t aware of his indictment for about two weeks until they were contacted by The Washington Post. They had lost electricity from a typhoon that hit the island.
Mr. Nauta’s aunt Elly Nauta told the paper about his service to Mr. Trump. “All he was instructed was to put the boxes [of documents] where they were supposed to go,” she said.
Mr. Nauta did not enter a plea in federal court in Miami this week. He did not have a local attorney with him and will be arraigned instead on June 27. In the meantime, a judge has ordered him not to talk with other witnesses.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.