FBI interview transcript reveals how Trump aide characterized boxes at Mar-a-Lago to investigators

The transcript of an interview with the FBI, made public Thursday evening, details how an aide to former President Donald Trump characterized the boxes of sensitive documents that are now at the center of the special prosecutor’s case as mishandling of classified documents from from the Trump White House.

The new court documents also reveal how agents outlined the issues of their investigation to Walt Nauta, who now faces several obstruction-related charges in the case.

During much of the May 2022 interview, Nauta describes the layout of Mar-a-Lago, what he claimed to know about where boxes of Trump items from the White House were stored and his assessment of what was in the boxes. The former president’s valet repeatedly claims he believed Trump had stored clippings, hairspray, shampoo, picture frames and other miscellaneous materials in the boxes.

Nauta was charged with conspiracy to conceal documents as well as lying to the FBI during his interview about the location and movement of boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago. He pleaded not guilty.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon allowed Nauta to file a version of the transcript with minor redactions before a hearing Friday in which he will argue that special counsel Jack Smith’s charges against him should be dismissed.

According to the transcript, investigators, at one point during the interview, asked Nauta if he was aware that Trump had shown a document with classified markings to people while he was on a plane. No such event was alleged in the indictment against Trump.

Nauta told investigators he was unaware and had not heard of such an incident. He told investigators he usually sat in the back of the plane when he traveled with the former president.

CNN has reached out to Trump’s representatives for comment.

At the start of the more than 100-page transcript, FBI agents explained to Nauta, who served in the military, why they were interested in locating any sensitive government documents, emphasizing that even the most minor details could be useful to their lives. goodbye.

The agents added that they were trying to determine whether the classified documents were “at least kept in a somewhat controlled environment” or “could have been exposed to a foreign intelligence service.”

The agents said that if some information could be compromised, then they should notify intelligence agencies who could determine whether to halt certain operations.

“Like it’s not worth it, we have to shut it down because we don’t want to, we don’t want these people’s lives to be at stake, we don’t want people to know. that our ships have these capabilities,” said an FBI agent.

The officer added: “But it would be a lot easier if we could tell them with certainty X, Y and Z so they know exactly what needs to be stopped and what doesn’t, right not ? So that’s kind of why we’re looking at this.

Nauta denied telling Trump he was sitting down for the interview and, according to the transcript, Nauta said he told Trump he was going to run.

Read the full transcript below:

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