Walt Nauta MTD Selective and Vindictive Prosecution Florida
Walt Nauta MTD Selective and Vindictive Prosecution Florida
Walt Nauta MTD Selective and Vindictive Prosecution Florida
v.
DONALD J. TRUMP,
WALTINE NAUTA, and
CARLOS DE OLIVIERA,
Defendants.
/
Defendant Waltine Nauta, by and through the undersigned counsel, and pursuant to Federal
Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 12(b)(3)(A)(iv), hereby respectfully requests this Court dismiss
the Superseding Indictment. See Superseding Ind. (July 27, 2023) (ECF No. 85). For the reasons
discussed herein, the decision of the Special Counsel’s Office (“SCO”) to prosecute Mr. Nauta was
both selective and vindictive. Alternatively, should the Court determine that more discovery is
necessary to properly inquire as to Mr. Nauta’s selective and vindictive prosecution claims, Mr.
Nauta further requests that this Court compel the SCO to provide the necessary records related to
these grounds for dismissal. See United States v. Bonilla, No. 07-20897-CR, 2010 U.S. Dist.
I. BACKGROUND
Mr. Nauta is a former U.S. Navy veteran who was stationed at the White House during the
45th Presidential Administration, where he served as a valet to Former President Donald J. Trump.
Superseding Ind. at ¶ 9 (July 27, 2023) (ECF No. 85). Following Former President Trump’s
administration and Mr. Nauta’s service in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Nauta was hired by The Office of
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Donald J. Trump as an executive assistant, where he serves as a “personal aide” or “body man.”
Id.
Throughout his presidency, former President Trump “gathered newspapers, press clippings,
letters, notes, cards, photographs, official documents, and other materials in cardboard boxes that
he kept at in the White House.” Id. at ¶ 2. In those cardboard boxes, Former President Trump
allegedly stored classified documents, among them containing information concerning to U.S.
national defense whose “unauthorized disclosure…could put at risk the national security of the
United States…”. Id. at ¶ 3. Upon the conclusion of Former President Trump’s tenure as President
of the United States on January 20, 2021, Former President Trump moved from the White House
to his personal residence at the Mar-a-Lago Club (“Mar-a-Lago”) in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Id. at ¶ 4. Former President Trump’s move from the White House to Mar-a-Lago included the
moving of “scores of cardboard boxes” alleged to have contained classified documents. Id.
Between January 2021 and August 2022, the cardboard boxes from the White House purporting to
have contained classified documents were stored in various locations at Mar-a-Lago. Id. at ¶ 5.
These cardboard boxes were allegedly stored in the White and Gold Ballroom of Mar-a-
Lago from Former President Trump’s return in January 2021 until March 15, 2021, when Mr.
Nauta alleged transferred the boxes from the White and Gold Ballroom to Mar-a-Lago’s business
center. Id. at ¶¶ 26-27. Thereafter, on April 5, 2021, two employees of the Office of Donald J.
Trump discussed moving the boxes from the business center to the Lake Room of Mar-a-Lago,
where the boxes were eventually moved to the Lake Room, where they were stored in a bathroom
and a shower. Id. at ¶¶ 28-30. In May 2021, Former President Trump allegedly directed that a
storage room on the ground floor of the Mar-a-Lago Club (“Storage Room”) be cleaned out so that
the boxes could be stored there; at the same time, the National Archives and Records
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Administration (“NARA”) requested that Former President Trump return the presidential records
he allegedly kept beyond his presidency. Id. at ¶ 38. Beginning in June 2021, NARA warned
various representatives of Former President Trump that if he did not return the presidential records
alleged to be in his possession, NARA would refer to the Department of Justice. On June 24, 2021,
the boxes from the Lake Room were allegedly moved to the Storage Room. Id. at ¶ 31. The
Superseding Indictment alleges that more than 80 boxes were stored in the Storage Room of Mar-
On or about November 2021 and January 2022, Mr. Nauta and “Trump Employee 2” were
alleged to have brought boxes from the Storage Room to Former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
residence, containing an entry room called, “Pine Hall,” for Former President Trump’s review. Id.
at ¶ 39. Notably, on December 7, 2021, Mr. Nauta allegedly returned to the Storage Room to find
that several of Former President Trump’s boxes had fallen over and its contents spilled onto the
floor of the Storage Room, including a document bearing classification label that read,
“SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY.” Id. at ¶ 32. Mr. Nauta allegedly took two photographs of the
fallen boxes and spilled documents and texted those photos to “Trump Employee 2,” in which the
On or about December 29, 2021, and until January 17, 2022, Mr. Nauta, Trump
Representative 1, and Trump Employee 2 allegedly conferred with one another with to coordinate
Former President Trump’s and Trump Employee 1’s review of the documents in an effort to
respond to the demand from NARA. Id. at ¶¶ 39-48. On January 17, 2022, Mr. Nauta and Trump
Employee 2 allegedly gathered 15 boxes from Former President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago,
loaded those 15 boxes into Mr. Nauta’s car. Id. at ¶ 48. Thereafter, Mr. Nauta allegedly drove his
car containing the 15 boxes to a commercial delivery truck for delivery to NARA. Id. NARA’s
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review of the contents of these 15 boxes allegedly revealed that 14 of those boxes contained
Following its review of the returned boxes, NARA referred the classified discovery of these
boxes to the Department of Justice for further investigation on February 9, 2022, which the
initiated the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) criminal investigation into the matter on
March 30, 2022. Id. at ¶ 50-51; see also id. at ¶ 7. On April 26, 2022, a federal grand jury opened
an investigation into the same. Id. at ¶ 52. On May 11, 2022, the grand jury issued a subpoena to
The Office of Donald J. Trump (“May 11 Subpoena”) which sought the production of “all
documents with classification markings in the possession, custody, or control of Trump or The
Office of Donald J. Trump.” Id. at ¶ 53. With counsel present, Mr. Nauta provided a voluntary
interview with the FBI on May 26, 2022, in which they discussed the 15 boxes Former President
Trump provided to NARA earlier that year. Id. at ¶ 110; see also Ex. 10 (FBI 302 of W. Nauta
Interview on May 26, 2023) (Oct. 19, 2023). Mr. Nauta also testified before a federal grand jury
in the District Court for the District of Columbia on June 21, 2022. See generally Ex. 11 (W. Nauta
Grand Jury Tr.) (June 21, 2022) (USA-00809047). On August 8, 2022, the FBI executed a court-
authorized search warrant to seize things from the Mar-a-Lago Club. Superseding Ind. at ¶ 97
Mr. Nauta retained the undersigned defense counsel, Stanley Woodward on August 3, 2022,
for representation regarding the ongoing federal grand jury investigation. On November 28, 2022,
the FBI obtained a search and seizure warrant from a judge in the Southern District of Florida for
two of Mr. Nauta’s iPhones, commanding that the warrant be executed by December 12, 2022.
See Exs. 1 and 10 (W. Nauta Search Warrant) (Nov. 28, 2022). On November 29, 2022, at
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10:37AM, the FBI executed that search warrant for Mr. Nauta’s phones. See Ex. 2 (FBI Receipt
for Property as to W. Nauta) (Nov. 29, 2022). On November 29, 2022, at 10:40AM – curiously
after the FBI executed the warrant against Mr. Nauta – Mr. Woodward was advised of its execution
via an email from Mr. Michael Thakur, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern
District of Florida. Ex. 3 at 2 (S. Woodward/M. Thakur Email Correspondence) (Nov. 29, 2022).
Mr. Woodward promptly responded to Mr. Thakur and requested that the FBI hold off on searching
Mr. Nauta’s seized device until the parties could “agree on appropriate filter protocol for any
Mr. Woodward did not again correspond with the government as it pertained to Mr. Nauta
until May 8, 2023, when Mr. David Raskin, Assistant Special Counsel emailed Mr. Woodward.
See Ex. 4 (S. Woodward/D. Raskin Email Correspondence) (May 8, 2023). In his email, Mr.
Raskin states that it “[w]ould be good to chat [with Mr. Woodward]” and asked if Mr. Woodward
would have time in the following day to “grab a coffee or something.” Id. Mr. Woodward, under
the impression that the encounter would be amicable insofar as its scope would pertain to Mr.
Nauta’s ongoing cooperation in the ongoing federal investigation, agreed to meet with Mr. Raskin.
See Ex. 5 at 1 (S. Woodward/M. Thakur Email Correspondence) (May 9, 2023). On May 9, 2023,
Mr. Woodward and Mr. Raskin met and discussed. As a follow-up to their meeting, Mr. Raskin
emailed Mr. Woodward on May 22, 2023, in which he informed Mr. Woodward to expect a target
letter as to Mr. Nauta, which Mr. Raskin noted was “[p]retty self-explanatory and consistent with
[their] conversation.” Id. On May 24, 2023, at 12:46AM, Mr. J.P. Cooney, Deputy Special
Counsel, sent an email to Mr. Woodward attaching a target letter regarding the SCO’s investigation
into possible federal criminal violations of Mr. Nauta dated May 23, 2023. See Exs. 6 (S.
Woodward/D. Raskin Email Correspondence (May 8-9 and 22, 2023) and 7 (W. Nauta SCO Target
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Letter) (May 23, 2023). In particular, the target letter the investigation of Mr. Nauta focused on
possible violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001, 1512, and 1519. See Ex. 8 at 1 (W. Nauta SCO Target
Letter) (May 23, 2023). On June 8, 2023, Messrs. Jay Bratt, Counselor to the Special Counsel)
and David Harbach emailed Mr. Woodward the judicial summons for Mr. Nauta’s initial
arraignment scheduled for June 13, 2023 at 3:00pm. Ex. 9 at (S. Woodward/J. Bratt, D. Harbach
D. Indictment
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted Mr. Nauta on June 8, 2023
(ECF No. 3), which was then superseded on July 27, 2023 (ECF No. 85). The Superseding
Indictment alleges that Former President Trump and Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira are alleged to
have knowingly engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct justice in an effort for Former President Trump
to keep the classified documents taken from the White House during his presidency and to hide
and conceal those documents from a federal grand jury for their conduct after the May 11 Subpoena
was issued. Superseding Ind. at ¶¶ 95-96. As it pertains to Mr. Nauta, the Superseding Indictment
charges Mr. Nauta with the following: participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice in violation
conceal in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001(a)(2) and 2 (Count 37); making false statements and
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The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure require that a defendant raising any defenses,
objections, and requests regarding defects with respect to the initiation of his prosecution –
including selective and/or vindictive prosecution – be brought before the court before trial. Fed.
prosecutorial misconduct is a discretionary call which the Court of Appeals reviews for an abuse
of discretion.” United States v. Kopp, No. 6:17-cr-159-PGB-DCI, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175175,
at *13-14 (M.D. Fla. Sep. 23, 2022) citing United States v. Jones, 601 F.3d 1247, 1260 (11th Cir.
2010). Thus, where a defendant fails to raise this defense before trial, he waives the defense. Fed.
R. Crim. P. 12(e).
including those imposed by the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth
Amendment.” United States v. Smith, 231 F.3d 800, 807 (11th Cir. 2000) (citations omitted).
Moreover, the Due Process Clause aims to a prosecution decision “may not be based on an
unjustifiable standard . . . or arbitrary classification.” Id. In other words, “the decision to prosecute
may not be ‘deliberately based upon an unjustifiable standard such as race, religion, or other
Wayte v. United States, 470 U.S. 598, 608 (1985) (cleaned up).
A. Selective Prosecution
“In order to establish unconstitutional selective prosecution, the claimant must show [1]
that the prosecution has a discriminatory effect and [2] that it was motivated by a discriminatory
purpose.” United States v. Emmanuel, 2007 WL 9705934, at *2 (S.D. Fla. July 3, 2007) (cleaned
up). “The first prong, discriminatory effect, is demonstrated by a showing that similarly situated
individuals were not prosecuted for the same crime.” Id. (cleaned up). “[A] ‘similarly situated’
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person for selective prosecution purposes as one who engaged in the same type of conduct, which
means that the comparator committed the same basic crime in substantially the same manner as
the defendant.” Smith, 231 F.3d at 810. “The second prong, discriminatory purpose, is
demonstrated by a showing that the decision to prosecute was invidious or in bad faith.”
constitutionally impermissible motive, such as on the basis of race or religion, or in retaliation for
her exercise of constitutional rights.” United States v. Ndiaye, 434 F.3d 1270, 1288 (11th Cir.
2006). Relatedly, “[a] defendant may obtain discovery in support of a selective prosecution claim
where the defendant provides some evidence tending to show the existence of the essential
A. Vindictive Prosecution
“The government violates a defendant’s due process rights when it vindictively seeks to
retaliate against him for exercising his legal rights.” United States v. Schneider, 853 F. App’x 463,
469 (11th Cir. 2021). “Vindictiveness in this context means the desire to punish a person for
exercising his rights.” United States v. Barner, 441 F.3d 1310, 1315 (11th Cir. 2006) citing United
States v. Goodwin, 457 U.S. 368, 372 (1982). In other words, a defendant establishes “actual
vindictiveness by showing ‘objectively that the prosecutor’s charging decision was motivated by
a desire to punish him for doing something that the law plainly allowed him to do.’” United States
v. Davis, No. 8:14-cr-191-T-36TBM, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13256, at *4 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 4, 2015)
“A defendant can establish actual prosecutorial vindictiveness if he can show that the
government’s justification for a retaliatory action is pretextual.” Schneider, 853 F. App’x at 469.
“To establish prosecutorial vindictiveness, a defendant must show, through objective evidence,
that (1) the prosecutor acted with genuine animus toward the defendant and (2) the defendant
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would not have been prosecuted but for that animus.” United States v. Simbaqueba Bonilla, 2010
WL 11627259, at *5 (S.D. Fla. May 20, 2010) (cleaned up). At the pre-trial stage, courts are
United States v. Barner, 441 F.3d 1310, 1317 (11th Cir. 2006) (cleaned up) (“[I]n a pre-trial
situation, presumption of vindictiveness not applicable and defendant must come forward with
prosecution claim, a defendant may compel such responsive discovery if it “offer[s] sufficient
evidence to raise a reasonable doubt that the government acted properly in seeking the indictment"
and that ‘[a] showing of a colorable claim that is essential to compel discovery.’” Bonilla, No. 07-
20897-CR, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164174, at *15 (S.D. Fla. May 20, 2010) (cleaned up).
III. ARGUMENT
A. Mr. Nauta’s Due Process Rights Were Violated When the SCO Retaliated Against the
Exercise of His Fifth Amendment Rights
Mr. Nauta has consistently cooperated with the prosecution’s investigation of the instant
proceedings at least three times – first on May 26, 2022, through a voluntary interview with the
FBI; his testimony before a D.C. federal grand jury on June 21, 2022; and in handing over two
iPhones to federal authorities in response to the FBI’s November 29, 2022 search and seizure
warrant. See Exs. 1, 10, and 11. While Mr. Nauta declined the prosecution’s request to testify
before an additional federal grand jury [cite], and such construction that his declination was
anything other than cooperative would be wholly inaccurate. Mr. Nauta does not deny that “in the
context of a grand jury inquiry . . . the public . . . has a right to every man’s evidence.” United
States v. Doe (In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum), 670 F.3d 1335, 1341 (11th Cir. 2012)
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(cleaned up) (emphasis added). This “right to evidence” nevertheless makes exceptions for
Amendment provides, however, that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself.” Id. (emphasis added). Accordingly, Mr. Nauta’s declination to testify
before a federal grand jury should only be lawful assertion of his Fifth Amendment rights to which
i. The Special Counsel Acted with Genuine Animus Toward Mr. Nauta
In seeking to establish that he is subject to vindictive prosecution, Mr. Nauta must first
demonstrate that there was objective evidence that the SCO acted with “genuine animus” toward
Mr. Nauta. See Simbaqueba Bonilla, 2010 WL 11627259, at *5. At their May 9, 2023 informal
meeting – whose invitation was posited to Mr. Woodward as a coffee chat – Mr. Raskin
nevertheless represented to Mr. Woodward that the prosecution would not accept anything less
than Mr. Nauta’s full cooperation in the investigation; in particular, Mr. Raskin declined any such
proposition to proffer by Mr. Woodward. Moreover, their discussion was exclusively concerned
ii. The Special Counsel Would Not Have Prosecuted Mr. Nauta But For Their Genuine
Animus
Second, Mr. Nauta but for that animus, he would have otherwise not been prosecuted in
order to establish that his prosecution is vindictive. See Simbaqueba Bonilla, 2010 WL 11627259,
at *5. Mr. Woodward did not hear from the SCO with regard to Mr. Nauta since his May 9, 2022
meeting with Mr. Raskin until May 22, 2023, when he was contacted by Mr. Raskin, who advised
him of a forthcoming target letter for Mr. Nauta. See Ex. 5 (S. Woodward/M. Thakur Email
Correspondence) (May 9, 2023). Notably, the target letter addressed more than the potential
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violation § 1001 Mr. Woodward and Mr. Raskin discussing on May 9 – in addition to § 1001, the
target letter included inquiries into potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1512 and 1519.
Mr. Nauta joins in Defendant Former President Trump’s selective prosecution claim for the
reasons stated in his motion and for the reasons stated in supra. See Bonilla, No. 07-20897-CR,
2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164174, at *12 n.9 (S.D. Fla. May 20, 2010) citing United States v.
Lamberti, 847 F. 2d 1531, 1535 n. 12 (11th Cir. 1988) (“[t]here is some authority to indicate that
‘personal vindictiveness on the part of a prosecutor or…may suffice to satisfy the second element
The Superseding Indictment charges Mr. Nauta, along with his co-defendants, Former
President Trump and Mr. Carlos De Oliviera, for their alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice in
1512(b)(2)(B), 1512(c)(1), and 2. Superseding Ind. at ¶ 95 (July 27, 2023) (ECF No. 85). In
support of the conspiracy as to the § 1512(b)(2) charges, the Superseding Indictment alleges that
Former President Trump and Messrs. Nauta and De Oliviera conspired to the following: suggesting
that Trump Attorney 1 falsely represent to the FBI and the grand jury that Former President Trump
did not have any documents responsive to the May 11 Subpoena; moved the boxes to conceal them
from Trump Attorney 1, the FBI, and the grand jury; suggesting that Trump Attorney 1 hide or
destroy documents responsive to the May 11 Subpoena; providing the FBI and the grand jury with
only some of the documents called for by the May 11 Subpoena, while Former President Trump
claimed he was fully cooperating; causing false certifications to the FBI and grand jury to represent
that “all documents with classification markings” had been provided to them, when they were not;
making false and misleading statements to the FBI; and attempting to delete security camera
footage from the Mar-a-Lago Club to conceal the footage from the FBI and grand jury. Id. at ¶ 97.
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s/ Sasha Dadan
Sasha Dadan, Esq. (Fla. Bar No. 109069)
Dadan Law Firm, PLLC
201 S. 2nd Street, Suite 202
Fort Pierce, Florida 34950
772.579.2771 (telephone)
772.264.5766 (facsimile)
[email protected]
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on February 22, 2024, I electronically submitted the foregoing, via
Respectfully submitted,
s/ Sasha Dadan
Sasha Dadan, Esq. (Fl. Bar No. 109069)
Dadan Law Firm, PLLC
201 S. 2nd Street, Suite 202
Fort Pierce, Florida 34950
772.579.2771 (telephone)
772.264.5766 (facsimile)
[email protected]