A hearing in Donald Trump’s classified documents case devolved into a chaotic shouting match as lawyers fought over claims of a threat allegedly made to a defense attorney.
The hearing on Wednesday morning had been scheduled for Walt Nauta, Mr Trump’s co-defendant and valet, to share arguments that the office of special counsel Jack Smith had vindictively and selectively charged him with offenses.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Mr Trump, did not issue a ruling, according to CNN.
The hearing was quickly taken over by a disagreement over an August 2022 meeting including prosecutor Jay Bratt and Stanley Woodward, Mr Nauta’s defense attorney, who claimed in court and legal filings that Mr Bratt tried to convince Mr Nauta to cooperate with the prosecution against Mr Trump by threatening to affect the possible nomination of a judgeship.
Mr Nauta argues that he was charged for not cooperating with the Department of Justice and its probe into Mr Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified files.
“I had been recommended for a judgeship, that’s beyond dispute,” Mr Woodward said on Wednesday, CNN reported.
“There was a folder about defense counsel on the table” during the meeting, he claimed, adding that Mr Bratt referenced the judgeship. “I think the implication was that I was to travel and convince Mr Nauta to cooperate with the investigation, and if I didn’t that, there would be consequences.”
“Mr Woodward’s story of what happened at that meeting is a fantasy,” prosecutor David Harbach said, banging the lectern. “It did not happen.”
“This is a lawyer whose allegations amount basically to him being extorted,” he added as he waved his arms, before being told by Judge Cannon to “calm down”.
Judge Cannon was set to hear a second attempt to dismiss charges in the federal classified documents case in Fort Pierce, Florida on Wednesday. The first was Mr Nauta’s and the second will focus on the arguments of co-defendants that the indictment has technical problems and needs to be dismissed.
Judge Cannon has already delayed Mr Trump’s trial in the case indefinitely. The trial was initially scheduled to begin this week. The former president, who’s running to take back the White House, and his co-defendant and valet sought to have the case dismissed in separate motions.
Mr Trump pled not guilty in June to charges that he illegally retained national defense information, that he took part in a conspiracy to obstruct justice, and that he made false statements.
Mr Trump kept secret files in unsecured parts of his Mar-a-Lago home and worked to obstruct the authorities trying to get them back, the indictment states. The files included documents from the Pentagon, the National Security Agency, and the CIA.
Mr Trump, who is on trial in New York for falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment to an adult actress, did not attend the proceedings on Wednesday.
The Trump legal team has already filed several motions to try to dismiss the charges against him in the classified documents case. All have so far failed.
Wednesday’s hearing is the first since Judge Cannon indefinitely postponed Mr Trump’s trial on 7 May. She said that the planned beginning of the trial on 20 May didn’t work because of the number of remaining pre-trial motions.
The delay makes it unlikely that the case will be heard before the election, and if Mr Trump wins, he’s likely to move to have all federal charges against him dropped.
Mr Trump’s lawyers have all attempted to delay the legal proceedings against him as much as possible.
The former president also faces cases in Washington, DC, and Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
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