Current:Home > ScamsBurley Garcia|Judge in Trump docs case to hear arguments regarding potential conflicts of interest -PureWealth Academy
Burley Garcia|Judge in Trump docs case to hear arguments regarding potential conflicts of interest
Poinbank Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 14:09:45
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump's two co-defendants in the special counsel's classified documents case will appear in court Thursday to make their case that their representation of their clients,Burley Garcia Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, doesn't present a conflict of interest despite them representing other witnesses in the investigation.
Lawyers for Trump will also be present at the hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Trump pleaded not guilty in June to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation's defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government's efforts to get the documents back.
MORE: Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira pleads not guilty to new charges in documents probe
Nauta, Trump's longtime aide, De Oliveira, the property manager at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, subsequently pleaded not guilty along with the former president to obstruction charges in a superseding indictment related to alleged attempts to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage.
Thursday's hearing could provide additional insight into what witnesses have told investigators about Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira's actions leading up to their indictment.
Special counsel Jack Smith's team requested the hearings for U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to determine if Stanley Woodward, Nauta's counsel, and John Irving, De Oliveira's counsel, have any conflicts of interest arising from their past and current representations of witnesses who the government may call at trial.
Woodward previously represented the individual identified in Smith's superseding indictment as "Trump Employee 4," who ABC News has previously identified as Yuscil Taveras, Mar-a-Lago's former director of IT. Taveras switched attorneys after receiving a target letter from the special counsel indicating he may have perjured himself during a May appearance prior to the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the probe.
Taveras then entered into an agreement to cooperate with the government, with Smith agreeing not to prosecute Taveras for allegedly perjuring himself in exchange for his truthful testimony.
According to previous court filings, Smith's team argues that Woodward's potential cross examination of his former client "raises two principal dangers."
"First, the conflict may result in the attorney's improper use or disclosure of the client's confidences during the cross-examination," the special counsel has said, according to the filings.
"Second, the conflict may cause the attorney to pull his punches during cross-examination, perhaps to protect the client's confidences or to advance the attorney's own personal interest," the special counsel said in the filing.
Woodward also represents two additional individuals who could also be called as witnesses at trial. Their identities have not publicly been disclosed.
Smith's team also argues that conflicts may arise from Irving's representation of De Oliveira, given that Irving represents at least four others who have been questioned by special counsel investigators.
MORE: Recent obstruction charges against Trump, others followed cooperation from Mar-a-Lago IT worker: Sources
The clients include a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago who served as head of maintenance before De Oliveira; a former receptionist and assistant to Trump; and a witness who has information about the movement of boxes from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, according to prosecutors.
"Mr. Irving's representation of the three potential witnesses raises the possibility that he might be in the position of cross-examining current clients," the special counsel has said, according to the public filings.
veryGood! (25)
Related
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Cher is 'proud' of boyfriend Alexander 'A.E.' Edwards after reported fight with Travis Scott
- RFK Jr. sues Nevada’s top election official over ballot access as he scrambles to join debate stage
- Brothers charged in Georgia strip club shooting that left multiple injured
- Olympic women's basketball bracket: Schedule, results, Team USA's path to gold
- Larry Allen, former Dallas Cowboys great and Pro Football Hall of Famer, dies at 52
- Who will make the US gymnastics team for 2024 Paris Olympics? Where Suni Lee, others stand
- MLB investigating Padres' Tucupita Marcano for gambling on games in 2023
- Daughter of Utah death row inmate navigates complicated dance of grief and healing before execution
- The Best Amazon Father’s Day Gifts of 2024 Guaranteed To Arrive Before the Big Day
Ranking
- The GOP and Kansas’ Democratic governor ousted targeted lawmakers in the state’s primary
- Jack Black responds to students' request to attend 'School of Rock' musical production
- Boy Meets World's Trina McGee Is Pregnant, Expecting Her Fourth Baby at 54
- Bia previews Cardi B diss track after fellow rapper threatens to sue
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Julie Bowen Reacts to Being Credited for Saving Sarah Hyland From Abusive Relationship
- Southwest US to bake in first heat wave of season and records may fall
- Does Miley Cyrus Want Kids? She Says...
Recommendation
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
Justin Jefferson, Vikings strike historic four-year, $140 million contract extension
3rd try at approving recreational marijuana in South Dakota makes the ballot
This NBA finals, Jason Kidd and Joe Mazzulla make a pairing that hasn't existed since 1975
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Arizona proposal to let local police make border-crossing arrests is set for lawmakers’ final vote
Wisconsin attorney general files felony charges against attorneys, aide who worked for Trump in 2020
'Venom: The Last Dance' trailer detail confuses Marvel fans: 'Doesn't make any sense'