Former President Donald Trump's co-defendant in the classified documents case is being urged to "run quickly" from the ex-president by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Walt Nauta, Trump's valet, was charged with six federal felony counts related to obstruction of justice and concealing classified documents alongside the former president last week, who was indicted on 37 felony counts.
Nauta was indicted after refusing to cooperate with Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation and has been deemed "deeply loyal" to the ex-president by other Trump aides, according to The New York Times.
Cohen directly appealed to Nauta and suggested that his loyalty was misplaced during a Monday night interview with MSNBC host Chis Hayes, while warning Trump's valet that he was about to be "thrown under the bus" by the former president.
Cohen was once considered Trump's close ally and "fixer" but has become a frequent critic of the ex-president since 2018 when he admitted breaking campaign finance laws related to the Stormy Daniels "hush money" payments and doing prison time.
"Walt will get thrown under the bus," said Cohen. "There is no doubt about this one. And if there is anything that I can do, I would look straight into the camera, and say Walt, I know you are watching. Run. Run as fast as you can, my friend ... run as quickly as you can."
"Donald Trump will throw you under the bus, faster than you could possibly imagine," he continued. "And he won't throw you under the bus simply just to save himself. He will just throw you under the bus, simply because he can. And because he thinks it will provide him with some form of benefit."
Nauta was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice; withholding a document or record; corruptly concealing a document; concealing a document in a federal investigation; scheme to conceal; and making false statements and representations. He could face a maximum combined prison sentence of 90 years.
According to the unsealed indictment, Trump directed Nauta to move boxes containing sensitive and classified material from his Mar-a-Lago residence, concealing the documents from Trump attorneys and the FBI.
Trump, who could be facing a maximum combined sentence of more than 500 years, has denied any wrongdoing and maintains that the charges are part of "the greatest witch hunt of all time." He has also defended Nauta as "a Great Patriot" in a Truth Social post, praising his valet for refusing to "say bad things" about him.
Nauta appears to have remained loyal to Trump since the indictment was revealed. The so-called "body man" accompanied the former president during his travels over the weekend and was with Trump when he arrived in Miami on Monday in preparation for Tuesday's arraignment hearing.
Nauta's attorney Stanley Woodward declined Newsweek's request for comment.
Newsweek has also reached out to the office of Trump via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
