Meet Waltine Nauta, Trump’s ‘Diet Coke valet’ who’s now his co-defendant on federal charges
Nauta #Nauta
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges in connection to the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified documents, and an unsealed indictment reveals he has a codefendant in the case — his aide, Waltine Nauta.
Nauta has been charged with six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, a document or record, and false statements and representations.
Prosecutors allege that Trump directed Nauta “to move boxes of documents to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury.”
They allege that Trump and Nauta “hid, concealed, and covered up from the FBI Trump’s continued possession of documents with classification margins at the Mar-a-Lago Club.”
Nauta is a longtime personal aide of Trump’s and worked as a White House valet, a role that includes being a personal assistant, messenger, and errand runner for the president.
New York Magazine’s Intelligencer reported that Nauta was Trump’s “Diet Coke valet,” the person who brought Trump a soda whenever he needed one in the White House’s Oval Office.
According to the Washington Post, Nauta would also bring Trump anything else he needed.
Nauta was one of six siblings and grew up in Guam, a US island territory in the Western Pacific, before enlisting in the Navy in 2001, The Post reported.
He worked in the White House mess hall before becoming a valet, The Post reported.
The Post reported that Nauta regularly traveled with Trump between his Bedminster, New Jersey home, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and the White House.
Nauta stayed on as one of Trump’s aides after he left the presidency and has even been photographed on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign trail.
The New York Times reported last year that Nauta was caught on security camera moving boxes from storage rooms at Mar-a-Lago before and after the Justice Department subpoenaed Trump.
At the time, The Times cited three people familiar with the matter who said Nauta was seen moving boxes on security cameras.
One source told The Times that the FBI also interviewed Nauta before its warrant-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022.
Nauta’s attorney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.