The Daily Fuckup

Walt Nauta did not enter a plea on June 27, 2023. The Miami hearing was pushed to July 6 after his flight to Florida was canceled and his legal team still had not lined up the local counsel required to proceed in the Southern District of Florida.

Nauta is Donald Trump’s former aide and valet, and he is a co-defendant in the federal classified-documents case. The June 8 indictment accuses Trump, Nauta and another defendant of holding onto sensitive government records after Trump left office and of taking steps to conceal materials from investigators and from Trump’s own lawyers. The arraignment delay did not change any of those charges.

At the time of the reset, the issue before the court was procedural, not substantive. Nauta’s lawyer told the judge that the hearing could not move forward that day because Nauta was not in court and still lacked the local representation needed for the case. The judge set a new date instead of pressing ahead.

The postponement added another brief delay to an already closely watched case, but it did not affect the underlying indictment or the prosecution’s allegations. It only moved the first formal appearance on Nauta’s calendar from June 27 to July 6.