Nauta’s counsel has been seeking the release of the transcript since last summer. The transcript of Waltine Nauta’s interview with the grand jury in Washington, which recommended charges against former President Donald Trump, was made public on April 26. This was part of U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon’s recent orders regarding the information that can be made public in the case against the former president.
Judge Cannon is overseeing a case accusing President Trump of mishandling classified documents after leaving office. Charges have been brought against his aide, Waltine Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager as co-conspirators.
Counsel for Mr. Nauta, who served as a personal aide to President Trump, has been pushing for the release of the transcript for several months. They have alleged misconduct on the part of prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
During Mr. Nauta’s interview with the grand jury on June 21, 2022, he stated that he had limited knowledge of classified information. He explained that he had no idea about the contents of documents and boxes in President Trump’s possession. Defense attorneys have presented these interviews as evidence to support their argument that Mr. Nauta was not involved in the alleged concealment of classified information.
The interview revealed that Mr. Nauta and other aides would pick up a black bag from the situation room and deliver it to President Trump’s residence. However, Mr. Nauta stated that he was unaware of the bag’s contents. He also mentioned handling boxes labeled with Mar-a-Lago or President Trump’s name without knowing their contents.
There were further questions regarding the handling of documents and boxes, to which Mr. Nauta consistently responded that he could not determine their contents by lifting them. The defense has raised concerns about selective and vindictive prosecution, and motions to dismiss based on these grounds are pending.
Last June, counsel for Mr. Nauta wrote to the U.S. District Court Judge requesting the release of his interview with the grand jury. They alleged inappropriate conduct by the prosecutor and raised concerns about potential pressure on Mr. Nauta during the investigation. The defense is seeking assurance that Mr. Nauta was not coerced during his interactions with the grand jury. Nauta was informed through a target letter that he was likely to be indicted. In a separate development, Trump’s legal team requested grand jury materials, such as interview transcripts, for similar reasons. They filed a motion to unseal these transcripts to investigate potential abuse of the grand jury process. The attorneys alleged that the special counsel’s office had made inappropriate comments, pressured witnesses, and violated ethical standards. For example, they mentioned an instance where a Trump attorney was asked numerous times to break attorney-client privilege during an interview. The defense argued that the indictment should be dismissed due to vindictive and selective prosecution, claiming that the case is politically motivated. President Trump’s legal team emphasized that he is being treated differently from other officials who were not prosecuted for similar offenses. Additionally, his codefendants asserted that they are being targeted for not providing information to incriminate President Trump.
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