The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was recently indicted on dozens of criminal counts for mishandling some of the US government's most sensitive secrets and scheming to prevent their return.

On Thursday, Waltine “Walt” Nauta, a personal aide to the former US president and a US Navy veteran from Guam, entered a plea of not guilty to six counts of federal charges for his role in the incident. Nauta, 40, entered his plea at a brief hearing in a US District Court in Miami.

Donald Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, flashed a grin as he left the federal courthouse in Miami minutes ago. Nauta pleaded not guilty to charges that he helped the former president hide classified documents from federal authorities. pic.twitter.com/fpHGJcqv47

— Hannah Phillips (@haphillips96) July 6, 2023

His lawyer, Stanley Woodward, entered a plea of not guilty on all counts. The magistrate judge, Edwin Torres, asked if Nauta understood why he was in court, to which he replied “Yes, your honor”.

The indictment states that Trump took hundreds of classified government documents in cardboard boxes to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving the White House in January 2021.

Trump stored the files, which included records from the Pentagon, CIA, and National Security Agency, in unsecured locations at Mar-a-Lago, despite the estate hosting regular social events.

The documents were allegedly placed in various areas of the estate, such as a ballroom, a bathroom, Trump's bedroom, and a storage room.

Nauta is being charged with conspiring with the former president to hide the documents. A conviction on each count could potentially result in a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Trump is facing a total of 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information”, and a conviction on each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Other charges include conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, and making false statements, each of which could be punished by up to 20 years in prison.

Despite being impeached twice over allegations of misconduct while in office and recently found liable for sexual abuse, Trump has vowed to stay in the 2024 White House race regardless of the outcome of the documents case.

In addition to the criminal charges in this case, the former president is also facing indictment or ongoing legal scrutiny in four criminal probes in Washington, Florida, Georgia and New York, potentially leading to multiple trials should Trump continue his run for the presidency.