Trump’s coffee boy, or more specifically, Diet Coke valet, is a bit of a wild card. Nobody knew much about him other than he was hyper loyal to Donald Trump and was thrilled to be the personal valet to the president of the United States, and then to follow him into exile in Mar-a-Lago, when the reelection went south. Then suddenly Walt Nauta found himself associated with Trump in quite a different capacity, as co-defendant. Naturally, it is wondered if Nauta would flip, because if anybody could incriminate Trump it would be him — or so it is speculated. Already there are holes in the story that he’s telling. Washington Post:
According to the indictment, Nauta helped bring boxes to Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago for his review before Trump returned 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives in January 2022. When interviewed by the FBI in May 2022, however, prosecutors allege Nauta falsely said he had no knowledge of the boxes being taken to Trump’s suite.
He then could be seen on surveillance video removing 64 boxes from the club’s ground floor storage room after Trump received a grand jury subpoena seeking classified records in May 2022. According to the indictment, he was spotted returning only 30 boxes to the room, just before a lawyer for Trump searched the room for documents to turn over to the government in response to the subpoena.
Trump and Nauta spoke repeatedly by phone before Nauta moved the boxes, the indictment alleges. The indictment does not detail what the two discussed. If Nauta chose to cooperate, he could presumably explain what Trump told him on those calls — and offer evidence about whether Trump instructed him to lie to the FBI.
That’s the holy grail right there, whether Trump told Nauta to lie to the FBI. Now whether Nauta will offer up that prize is anybody’s guess. It’s a cinch he won’t do so voluntarily.
People familiar with the case say that while Nauta spoke more than once with federal investigators, the conversations turned contentious last year when a senior Justice Department lawyer suggested the valet was in legal trouble for some of his statements. Nauta’s lawyers reacted angrily to that suggestion and the relationship never recovered.
What it comes down to now are two things: 1) Would Nauta turn on Trump? and 2) Would he even be believable now if he did? Once you’re credibly accused of having lied to the FBI, that does tend to undermine your trustworthiness going forward.
Chuck Rosenberg, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department official, said that Nauta could be a powerful witness for the government — but only if he testified “truthfully and completely.”
“I’ve had many cases where somebody did not tell the truth, perhaps to the FBI when first questioned — and then when reality finally hit, they did tell the truth,” Rosenberg added. “To be a valuable and credible witness, that person must explain to the jury that they lied, why they lied and why they are not lying now.”
Maybe the reason Nauta would want to tell the truth now is because he doesn’t want to go to prison for Donald Trump. Or, could Nauta be the One True Sycophant, the one cult member who is actually willing to do time to keep Trump safe and sound?
I have a hard time believing anybody would be that gullible. But then I have a hard time with the fact that 73 million people voted for the bum to stay in the White House, rather than ride him out of town on a rail.
Only time will tell.
As I wrote recently the feds don’t really need Nauta to convict Trump on the National Security indictments over the classified documents at Mar A Lago. It would bolster their case of course but it’s not essential. However there’s a bigger reason why Nauta flipping could eviscerate not just Trump but others. As Trump’s “body man” in the latter portion of Trump’s time in the WH he was around Trump a LOT. Not just to Trump but others his presence was ubiquitous and there’s no telling how much he saw and heard as Eastman, Bannon and others were there talking not just J6 stuff but other parts of the multi-faceted scheme to keep Trump in power.
With the news that the same day Smith was in FL for Trump’s indictment a couple of fake electors were spotted going into the building where the DC grand jury is hearing the January 6 case. In other words Smith’s people are moving full speed ahead on that front and given how they managed to keep secret the fact that a grand jury in FL was hearing evidence in THAT case (why once that last witness was heard they turned right around and indicted Trump!) who knows how close Smith is to bringing a new indictment in DC? Maybe sooner that we think, and it’s being suggested by some who might know a little that he recognizes the ticking clock and the need to move forward because of the election in 2024.
His main lawyer is being paid for by TFG’s superpac. He is not going to flip. The time to flip was before the indictments. They don’t really need him now. The major economic engine in Guam (Nauta’s home of record) is the US military, so I imagine he considered it a great honor to be named WH valet and still considers being body-man for an ex-president an honor. I don’t think he possesses the critical thinking skills one would need to accurately assess his situation, which is probably why TFG likes him so much. I don’t think he realizes, even now, he will probably spend the next 10-20 yrs in prison.
Nauta appears to have been trump’s confidant during the failed coup attempt and may have extremely valuable information for that prosecution. If he gets competent independent legal advice and realizes that his boss isn’t going to return to the White House to pardon him, he may flip. At least one of the photos we have seen of boxes at MAL came from Nauta’s device, which indicates the FBI has his it and all the data. trump avoids leaving electronic records like the plague and uses interlocutors to relay his orders. Nauta appears to have been one of them and was texting instructions to MAL staff. These texts could well nail the lid on Nauta and trump’s conviction on obstruction. If Nauta is smart enough to get an independent lawyer and he plays his cards right, he could get immunity, a fast-track in the witness protection program, and maybe a decent job under a new identity. If I were Nauta I’d be looking for that lawyer and asking for protective custody.