Trump Personal Aide Also Indicted in Classified Docs Probe

Walt Nauta, former President Donald Trump’s personal aide at the White House and later at Mar-a-Lago, has also been indicted in the Justice Department’s probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents. 

The Details: Sources confirmed the indictment to multiple outlets, but the exact charges were not immediately clear. After the former president, Nauta is the second person to be indicted in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago over a year after Trump left office. Trump acknowledged Nauta’s indictment on Truth Social, calling him a “Great Patriot” and saying the “CORRUPT” DOJ and FBI were “trying to destroy his life.”

For Context: News of the charges against Trump broke Thursday evening. While Trump has claimed he could declassify government documents simply “by thinking about it,” DOJ investigators reportedly have audio recordings showing Trump understood he had retained classified material and could not declassify it after his term ended. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage of Trump’s indictment dominated online news homepages on Friday, earning Nauta’s indictment a top spot in many outlets. Coverage was fairly similar across the spectrum. The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) first reported the story.