Left: Former President Donald Trump stands with Walt Nauta as he visits Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke). Right: Prosecutors say that approximately 61 boxes remained in a storage room at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago (via DOJ court filing).
A federal judge unsealed portions of the government’s filing in support of its classified documents indictment of Donald Trump, detailing the caught-on-camera actions of Trump’s accused co-conspirator, who allegedly moved dozens of boxes out of a storage room as the investigation was underway.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart’s order Wednesday partially granted a media coalition’s request to unseal the probable cause affidavit in support of the March 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort where Trump lives.
Media organizations have sought to have the entire affidavit unsealed, but Reinhart wasn’t convinced to go that far.
“I find that additional portions of the search warrant affidavit should be unsealed, but that the entire affidavit should not be unsealed,” the order says. “I further find that the Government has met its burden of showing that its proposed redactions of the affidavit are narrowly tailored to serve the Government’s legitimate interests and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire search warrant affidavit.”
Reinhart’s order allowed for additional piecemeal revelations from the federal document that details the basis for the raid.
According to federal prosecutors, alleged co-conspirator and Trump’s “body man” Waltine Nauta was seen on surveillance footage moving dozens of boxes prior to that meeting with attorneys.
“[V]ideo footage reflects that evidence has been moved recently: Witness 5 removed approximately 64 boxes from the storage room area between May 24 and June 1, 2022, but only returned 25-30 boxes to the storage room area on June 2, 2022,” the affidavit says. “It cannot be seen on the video footage where the boxes were moved when they were taken from the storage room area, and accordingly, the current location of the boxes that were removed from the storage room area but not returned to it is unknown.”
The affidavit notes that Nauta appears to have moved many of these boxes after being questioned by the FBI.
“On May 30, 2022, four days after Witness 5’s interview with the FBI during which the location of boxes was a significant subject of questioning, Witness 5 is observed exiting the anteroom [to the storage room] doorway with approximately fifty Bankers boxes, consistent with the description of the FPOTUS boxes,” the affidavit says. “FBI did not observe this quantity of boxes being returned to the storage room through the anteroom entrance in its review of the footage.”
The affidavit provides additional details about the rooms in which the former president’s boxes were stored.
“Between January 21, 2021, and late August 2021, the FPOTUS boxes were stored in at least two different rooms” at Mar-a-Lago, the document says before describing at least one of those rooms. “The door to the storage room was painted gold and had no other markings on it. The door to the storage room is located approximately mid-way up the wall and is reachable by several wooden stairs.”
The affidavit says that Trump’s boxes appeared to have been stored alongside “merchandise such as challenge coins, garment bags, memorabilia from Mar-a-Lago such as photograph frames, and other décor items.”
Also unsealed was a previously redacted picture that, according to prosecutors, “captures approximately sixty-one of the FPOTUS boxes located in the storage room.” These appear to be the boxes that were not turned over to the National Archives.
The agent who signed the sworn affidavit indicated that these leftover boxes likely contain valuable — and potentially dangerous — information.
“I believe the contents of the remainder of the FPOTUS boxes are similar to the contents of the fifteen boxes,” the affidavit says. “Further, based upon the presence and number of documents and records bearing classification markings discovered within the fifteen boxes provided to NARA, there is reason to believe the remaining FPOTUS boxes, from which the fifteen boxes were taken, contain classified NDI.”
A single sentence also appears to relay a possible attempt to keep people away from some of the known remaining boxes.
“As of June 29, 2022, a padlock was installed on the storage room door.”
Reinhart’s order came the day before Nauta was supposed to be officially arraigned. Although he has struggled to find in-state representation, a filing made shortly before his arraignment indicates that he will be represented by Florida attorney Sasha Dadan, as well as Stanley Woodward, the Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who has also represented former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro and several notable accused Jan. 6 rioters.
Nauta pleaded not guilty at Thursday’s arraignment.
Read the affidavit, with additional redactions removed, below.
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