Speaking on MSNBC this Thursday, former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance said that Donald Trump's close aide Walt Nauta, who pleaded not guilty to six federal charges during his arraignment in a Miami federal court Thursday, will be in dire straights if he does not cooperate with the government.
"There will be an enormous amount of pressure on Walt Nauta to cooperate with the government," Vance told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell. "If he does not, it's almost a certainty he will go to prison for years, he is part of the obstruction of justice in this case and those penalties are very significant."
Vance said that newly unsealed evidence that the Justice Department used to obtain a search warrant for Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence presents an "overwhelming" case against Trump and Nauta.
A portion of the unsealed evidence shows Nauta moving boxes days before the Justice Department discovered classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Nauta reportedly removed around 64 boxes from the storage room but only returned around 25 to 30 of them.
Read more: Surveillance of Mar-a-Lago liquor tunnel was key to Trump's document 'shell game': DOJ
"That means Walter Nauta and Donald Trump tried to conceal them from the government," Vance said. "This new evidence only adds to the pressure that will mount on Walt Nauta at some point in these proceedings."
