Liam Conner
washington – As former President Donald Trump said “money silence” criminal trial As New York proceeds to final arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His lawyers and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal judge Aileen Cannon, where they argued with prosecutors during two contentious day-long hearings on Wednesday.
Nauta was accused last year, alongside the former president, by special advisor Jack Smith. They are accused of participating in a scheme to impede the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records. Prosecutors alleged they worked together to hide boxes of documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence that were of interest to investigators trying to return confidential government records to the federal government. Nauta is also accused of making false statements to investigators.
Trump, Nauta and a third co-defendant, Carlos de Oliveria — a former Mar-a-Lago employee with whom Smith says Nauta allegedly tried unsuccessfully to delete security camera footage — have pleaded not guilty. Nauta was the only defendant present at Wednesday’s hearings.
Proceedings in Judge Cannon’s courtroom focused on Nauta’s attempt to dismiss the charges against him. He accused Justice Department prosecutors of choosing to bring charges against him because of his decision not to turn against the former president and cooperate with the investigation. Trump has made similar accusations of selective prosecution against the special counsel’s team.
Nauta voluntarily gave an interview to the FBI in 2022 and later testified before a grand jury, his lawyers noted in court documents. They said he made the decision not to incriminate himself after learning he was the target of the federal investigation, and that this decision was a “guarantee of rights under the U.S. Constitution.” They claimed he had been vindictively accused because he did not fully cooperate.
But prosecutors dismissed those allegations as “flawed in law and fact” and argued in court documents that he was charged because he broke the law and was caught on security cameras moving boxes.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, told Cannon, “Other people helped move boxes but were not charged because they did not exercise their 5th Amendment right.” He urged the judge to allow Nauta’s allegations to move forward and asked her to press for more evidence to be turned over, which prosecutors vehemently opposed.
Parts of Wednesday’s hearings turned to Woodward’s allegations that one of Smith’s two prosecutors, Jay Bratt, tried to induce Nauta’s cooperation in the investigation by improperly mentioning a judgeship for which Woodward was being considered.
The special counsel rejected these claims and Woodward’s interpretation of events.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The alleged conversation took place at the Justice Department before the charges against Trump and his co-defendants were filed. It was the subject of sealed litigation in Washington, D.C., and documents related to the matter were subsequently unsealed.
David Harbach, a lawyer in Smith’s office, reacted sharply on Tuesday, telling Cannon that Woodward’s arguments were “difficult to bear.” He called attempts to close the case “garbage” and characterized the allegations as “fantasy.”
“This is procedural gambling,” Harbach insisted. “Where is the evidence that this is a vindictive accusation?” He said prosecutors had no “animus” for Nauta, arguing that Nauta became a target because “there is no one who has done all the things he has done.”
Cannon did not rule on Nauta’s motions and gave no indication as to whether he would allow new discovery on the matter.
The case was originally supposed to go to trial this month, but Cannon indefinitely postponed the start date, citing mounting pretrial motions that she needs to resolve. Several hearings are scheduled throughout the summer months.
Government exhibition
Wednesday’s hearings came a day after Cannon revealed court documents from the federal investigation that revealed Trump’s lawyers recovered confidential documents from his Florida bedroom after the FBI executed a search warrant on the property in 2022.
The documents also showed that prosecutors suspected Trump and Nauta apparently intended to further impede the federal investigation once they discovered investigators had access to security cameras at the Florida resort.
Photos of surveillance camera footage that appeared to show moving boxes from Nauta at Mar-a-Lago were also released in the unsealed records.
Daniel Shepherd reported from Ft. Pierce, Florida.
