After a mini-saga in the classified documents case against Donald Trump, both of the former president’s co-defendants have waived concerns that their attorneys have represented witnesses in the case.
During Friday’s hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta told federal Judge Aileen Cannon he had no concerns that his attorney, Stanley Woodward, has represented several witnesses in the case.
“I still choose Mr. Woodward as my lawyer,” Nauta told the judge after she went through the potential conflicts in detail.
Last week, Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance worker at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, also waived potential conflict of interest concerns raised by prosecutors who noted that his attorney also represented witnesses in the case, too.
Woodward and prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith have gone back and forth in court filings and before Cannon over the potential conflicts. In court Friday, Woodward agreed that he would not cross-examine witnesses he has represented or is currently representing.
One of those witnesses, Yuscil Taveras – an IT director at Mar-a-Lago – cut an agreement with prosecutors in exchange for his cooperation in the case after switching attorneys from Woodward.
Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira asked Taveras whether security footage at the Florida property could be deleted and said that “the boss” wanted it deleted. Taveras, according to the superseding indictment in the case, told De Oliveira he didn’t know how to delete the footage and didn’t believe he had the right to do so.
Nauta’s attorney has accused prosecutors of attempting to “micromanage” how he would handle any potential conflict of interest in the upcoming trial, currently scheduled for May 2024.
During last week’s hearing, when both De Oliveira and Nauta were scheduled to address the potential conflicts, the hearing was derailed after prosecutors began raising arguments against Woodward that they hadn’t previously put in writing to the court.
Cannon had admonished prosecutors “for frankly wasting the court’s time” before ending last week’s hearing and rescheduling Nauta to appear again Friday.
Trump’s attorneys in the case have continued to push for a delay in the trial until after the November 2024 election, but it’s unclear if these recent slight delays will ultimately help their cause or be a forgotten bit of courtroom drama.
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