Trump aide charged in classified documents case

A personal aide to Donald Trump has been indicted over the alleged mishandling of classified documents, US media report.

The aide, navy veteran Walt Nauta, worked at the White House and later at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

It is unclear what charges Mr Nauta is facing in connection with the case.

Mr Trump is facing seven counts, including mishandling classified documents and obstruction of justice, his lawyers said.

The charges against Mr Nauta were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the newspaper, Mr Nauta became a focus of the investigation after surveillance footage showed him moving boxes from a storage room. It was filmed before and after a May subpoena that ordered Mr Trump to return government documents kept at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Naura spoke to investigators at least twice before refusing further questioning, the Journal reported.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Mr Trump accused the US Justice Department of "trying to destroy" Mr Nauta's life "like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about Trump".

"He is strong, brave and a great patriot," Mr Trump added.

The BBC has reached out to Mr Nauta's lawyer for comment.

The charges against Mr Nauta and Mr Trump have yet to be unsealed by court officials. Mr Trump is expected to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami, Florida, on 13 June, where the charges will be read.

On Thursday, the former president's lawyers said he is facing seven counts, including mishandling classified documents and obstructing efforts to investigate the storage of the files at his Florida home. Both of these are federal felonies which can carry a prison sentence.

Hours later on Friday, the lawyers - Jim Trusty and John Rowley - announced that they were parting ways with Mr Trump and would no longer be representing him.

Mr Trump confirmed the shake-up of his legal team on Truth Social.

"This morning we tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the 6 January investigation," the pair said in a statement.

They both said it was "an honour" to spend the last year defending Mr Trump, but said that due to the case being filed in Miami, the lawyers felt it was a "logical moment" to step aside.

The US Secret Service is meeting with Mr Trump's team on Friday to arrange his travel and court appearance, law enforcement officials told CBS, the BBC's US partner.