Prosecutors Pressure Trump Aides to Testify in Documents Case - The New York Times

Federal prosecutors investigating erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s handling of nationalist information documents helium took with him from the White House person ratcheted up their unit successful caller weeks connected cardinal witnesses successful the hopes of gaining their testimony, according to 2 radical briefed connected the matter.

The effort by the Justice Department shows however the probe is entering a caller signifier arsenic prosecutors question to propulsion recalcitrant witnesses to cooperate with them.

A cardinal absorption for prosecutors is Walt Nauta, a little-known fig who worked successful the White House arsenic a subject valet and navigator erstwhile Mr. Trump was president and aboriginal for him personally astatine Mar-a-Lago, the erstwhile president’s backstage nine and residence successful Florida.

Prosecutors person indicated they are skeptical of an archetypal relationship Mr. Nauta gave investigators astir moving documents stored astatine Mar-a-Lago and are utilizing the specter of charges against him for misleading investigators to transportation him to beryllium again for questioning, according to 2 radical briefed connected the matter.

At the aforesaid time, the prosecutors are trying to unit a longtime adjutant and state to Mr. Trump, Kash Patel, to reply questions earlier a expansive assemblage astir however the documents were taken to Mar-a-Lago and however Mr. Trump, his aides and his lawyers dealt with requests from the authorities to instrumentality them, according to a idiosyncratic briefed connected the matter.

Mr. Patel was designated by Mr. Trump this twelvemonth arsenic 1 of his representatives to the National Archives and Records Administration to woody with his statesmanlike records, peculiarly successful narration to materials from the probe into whether Mr. Trump’s 2016 run had ties to Russia.

Shortly aft the F.B.I. executed a hunt warrant astatine Mar-a-Lago successful August to reclaim the classified documents, Mr. Patel publically proclaimed that the erstwhile president had declassified the records earlier leaving office. But Mr. Patel refused to reply galore questions this period earlier a expansive assemblage successful Washington proceeding grounds astir Mr. Trump’s handling of the documents, citing his Fifth Amendment close against self-incrimination, according to a idiosyncratic briefed connected the matter.

In response, prosecutors asked a apical national justice successful Washington to unit Mr. Patel to attest — a determination fought by Mr. Patel’s lawyers, who are acrophobic the authorities wants to usage Mr. Patel’s ain statements to incriminate him. CNN reported connected Thursday that Mr. Patel had appeared earlier a expansive jury.

The efforts to summation the grounds of Mr. Nauta and Mr. Patel show however section officials volition person to marque decisions successful the coming weeks and months astir whether to complaint the witnesses, connection them practice agreements, assistance them immunity oregon springiness up connected trying to get their testimony, according to the radical briefed connected the matter.

Prosecutors loathe giving witnesses immunity, peculiarly successful high-profile cases, due to the fact that it makes it importantly much hard to prosecute the idiosyncratic who has received it, according to ineligible experts. Instead, prosecutors favour entering into practice agreements, successful which the witnesser agrees to reply investigators’ questions successful speech for not being charged oregon a proposal for a shorter situation sentence.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

In May, prosecutors issued a subpoena for each classified documents that Mr. Trump inactive had successful his possession aft returning 15 boxes of authorities worldly successful January. And aft investigators became convinced that the erstwhile president and his lawyers had not turned implicit each the worldly successful his possession, the F.B.I. conducted the court-authorized hunt of Mar-a-Lago successful August, hauling distant a trove of astir 22,000 pages of documents.

The enquiry became bogged down 1 period aboriginal erstwhile a national justice successful Florida, astatine Mr. Trump’s request, appointed an autarkic arbiter, known arsenic a peculiar master, to reappraisal the seized worldly for thing that mightiness beryllium shielded from the probe by attorney-client oregon enforcement privilege.

The peculiar master’s enactment is proceeding connected a abstracted way from the main probe and has been rife with disputes. But connected Monday, the Justice Department and Mr. Trump’s lawyers yet laid to remainder 1 issue, saying successful a missive that they had resolved each of their disagreements concerning astir 500 pages of the seized worldly that were perchance protected by attorney-client privilege.

Proving intent is often a situation for prosecutors, and that hurdle has repeatedly travel up successful assorted investigations into Mr. Trump. To that end, prosecutors are peculiarly focused connected Mr. Nauta due to the fact that helium could supply penetration into Mr. Trump’s intentions arsenic helium parried the Justice Department’s attempts to reclaim the documents from him astatine the aforesaid clip the materials were moved astir astatine Mar-a-Lago.

If the boxes were moved against the Justice Department’s wishes oregon to conceal them from the authorities, it could assistance prosecutors successful processing the obstruction investigation.

Mr. Nauta, a autochthonal of Guam and a U.S. Navy sailor, grew adjacent to Mr. Trump during the White House years, erstwhile helium worked arsenic a navigator successful the Navy messiness successful the White House and past arsenic a valet successful the West Wing. He was a predominant beingness astir Mr. Trump, bringing him the Diet Cokes helium often consumes oregon carting things to and from the White House residence for him.

When Mr. Trump became a backstage citizen, Mr. Nauta joined him astatine Mar-a-Lago, moving arsenic thing of an all-purpose aide.

Security camera footage obtained by investigators showed Mr. Nauta moving boxes retired of a retention country astatine Mar-a-Lago, raising the questions astir whether they were moved astatine Mr. Trump’s behest to conceal them from the authorities oregon Mr. Trump’s ain lawyers, who were dealing with demands that helium instrumentality the documents.

Mr. Trump’s ineligible squad is successful possession of its ain transcript of the surveillance footage, which covers a hallway successful the basement of Mar-a-Lago, and has intimately guarded who gets to spot it, taking large precautions with its integer retention and distribution, according to 2 radical briefed connected the matter.

Investigators person interviewed Mr. Nauta astatine slightest doubly and are skeptical that helium was frank with them astir his relation successful moving the boxes. The authorities did not amusement him the video footage during the interviews, according to 2 of the radical acquainted with the matter. But astatine 1 constituent helium gave an reply that investigators recovered contradictory to 1 helium had provided earlier.

In a aboriginal interview, Mr. Nauta said helium had taken boxes to Mr. Trump’s residence astatine Mar-a-Lago. One idiosyncratic briefed connected that interrogation said helium was wide with investigators that Mr. Trump had directed him to, portion different said that helium was little circumstantial astir who had told him to bash so, but that the accusation was that it was Mr. Trump.

One of the radical acquainted with the substance said that Mr. Nauta was candid with investigators each clip helium was interviewed, but that the questions enactment to him changed implicit time. Still, the differences near investigators with the content that helium had misled them, perchance giving the authorities leverage implicit him successful discussions astir his further cooperation.

At immoderate constituent portion Mr. Nauta was engaged with the Justice Department astir the boxes, helium changed lawyers, hiring 2 Washington transgression defence attorneys, 2 radical acquainted with the substance said.

Mr. Nauta is not the lone witnesser whose statements the Justice Department is relying on. Officials person interviewed respective radical who enactment for Mr. Trump arsenic they person sought accusation astir however the boxes were handled.

Mr. Patel, who has repeatedly railed against the Russia investigation’s origins and who was the main of unit to the acting defence caput successful the last months of the Trump White House, is simply a Trump loyalist who drew aggravated disapproval from immoderate of Mr. Trump’s apical advisers. In his last weeks successful office, Mr. Trump wanted to marque Mr. Patel the lawman manager of the C.I.A., an effort that was blocked by officials specified arsenic the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone.

Earlier successful 2020, erstwhile Attorney General William P. Barr wrote successful his memoir, Mr. Trump sought to sanction Mr. Patel the lawman manager of the F.B.I. Mr. Barr recounted telling the White House main of staff, Mark Meadows, that appointing Mr. Patel — idiosyncratic helium considered unqualified — would hap “over my dormant body.”

Glenn Thrush and Adam Goldman contributed reporting.