FBI agents repeatedly asked Trump’s valet if he was being coached not to reveal too much information, a newly released interview transcript shows.
In the May 2022 interview, Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, was asked by two FBI agents if there were details that he was leaving out because of his loyalty to Trump.
The agents also suggested that, as Nauta was trained to follow orders, some people will try to “take advantage” of that and convince him not to say too much to authorities.
The former president is facing 40 federal charges over his handling of sensitive materials retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House in January 2021. He is accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to return them. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s attorney via email for comment on Friday.
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Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker, are accused of moving boxes of sensitive materials around Trump’s Florida home to prevent federal agents from finding them and conspiring to delete security footage that had been sought under a subpoena.
Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against them, including conspiracy to obstruct justice. Newsweek contacted Nauta’s lawyers for comment via email on Friday.
Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter with Politico, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday that the transcript clearly shows that the FBI had doubts about what Nauta was telling them.
“They clearly had some doubts about his veracity and whether he had been coached in his answers. They repeatedly emphasized that he had apparently misled Trump to meet with the FBI,” Cheney wrote.
Nauta was later charged with obstructing justice for allegedly hiding presidential records at Trump’s request.
After weeks of legal argument, Judge Aileen Cannon agreed that Nauta’s FBI interview should be released to the public, but with the names of the FBI agents redacted.
Prosecutor Jack Smith had sought a much heavier redaction of the document, arguing that government witnesses were at risk of intimidation if anything in the documents could lead to their identification.
In the newly-released interview transcript, one of the FBI agents tells Nauta: “You know what to do and when to do it, and you don’t ask questions, and that makes you really good at your job. The problem with that is that sometimes people can take advantage of that.”
The FBI agent then suggested that, because of that, people like Nauta are left to answer “very uncomfortable questions by the FBI, not the people giving the orders.”
He then adds: “So, thinking about that, you know, if there’s anything that you want to answer differently, or anything else that you think we should know and, you know, we are more than welcome to step out of the room and give you some time.”
Nauta’s lawyer, who was present for the interview, then interjects and says: “It seems like you are all trying to get at something and I’m not sure that our side of the table is picking up on it.”
He adds: “I’m confused. I think Walt’s probably confused.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.