Trump-Tied Lawyer Claims ‘Pressure’ from Feds Made Ex-Client Flip in Classified Documents Case

After a former Mar-a-Lago IT director became a government cooperator, an attorney prolifically tied to former President Donald Trump faced scrutiny about his representation of multiple witnesses in the classified documents case.

Denying any conflict of interest, attorney Stanley Woodward launched a counteroffensive against special counsel Jack Smith's office on Wednesday, alleging that "manipulation" by prosecutors made his former client flip through grand jury proceedings hundreds of miles away.

"What we now know is that defense counsel was prescient in its allegation that the application by the Special Counsel’s Office’s to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for the appointment of 'conflicts counsel' was calculated to induce the cooperation of a witness in a matter in this District," Woodward wrote in a seven-page legal brief.

Woodward represents Trump's personal valet Walt Nauta, numerous Jan. 6 rioters, and has been a lawyer for at least seven people questioned by the government in the classified documents case. His law firm received more than $201,000 to date this year from Save America, which is the former president’s primary fundraising vehicle.

Prosecutors believe that at least three of Woodward's current and former attorney-client relationships could amount to a conflict of interest, and they have asked for a so-called Garcia hearing, which will determine whether Nauta is informed about those alleged conflicts and can waive them. Woodward asked for such a hearing to be conducted behind closed doors.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has not yet ruled on the matter.

Prosecutors say that the issue came to a head after the cooperation of “Trump Employee 4,” who was later identified as Mar-a-Lago IT director Yuscil Taveras. 

In late August, prosecutors alleged that Taveras "retracted" false grand jury testimony immediately after ditching Woodward as his lawyer. Woodward denies this, alleging that Taveras retained a public defender after prosecutors sent him a target letter, threatening to prosecute him.

Once Taveras retained that new lawyer, Woodward claims, prosecutors offered him a non-prosecution agreement. The defense attorney portrays this series of events as a "manipulation" of the grand jury process.

"The Special Counsel’s Office’s manipulation of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia achieved its penultimate goal – it is telling that the Non-Prosecution Agreement it ultimately offered Trump Employee 4 was not offered before the District Court had agreed to appoint 'conflict counsel,'" Woodward's legal brief states.

Prosecutors say that Taveras' testimony could prove damaging for Trump and his accused accomplices, in proving a plot to cover up security camera footage subpoenaed by the government that showed classified documents being moved.

According to the superseding indictment, Nauta urged Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira to find out from Taveras how long the servers stored surveillance camera footage. De Oliveira allegedly informed Taveras that "the boss" wanted the footage deleted in a private conversation. Legal experts note that prosecutors could only have learned about that conversation through Taveras' testimony.

Woodward wants Judge Cannon to block Taveras from taking the stand.

"The Court should preclude Trump Employee 4 from testifying at a trial in this matter," his filing requests. "Should the Court not be prepared to so hold, Mr. Nauta respectfully requests the opportunity to brief the question as additional details concerning the Special Counsel’s Office utilization of a Grand Jury in a faraway District come to light."