Trump codefendant sticks with conflict-laden defense attorney despite judge's warning

FORT PIERCE — The second attempt at a conflicts hearing in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump proceeded without incident Friday, absent of the theatrics that cut last week's hearing short.

Trump aide Waltine Nauta returned to the Fort Pierce courthouse to decide whether his lawyer's divided loyalties posed too great a risk to his own defense. The attorney, Stanley Woodward, represents one witness who may be called to testify against Nauta, who is accused of helping Trump conceal classified documents after leaving office, and in the past has represented one other.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon warned Nauta, longtime valet to the former president, that Woodward might "pull his punches" when cross-examining his clients out of an ethical and moral obligation to protect their confidences.

She posed the same warning to Trump's third codefendant, Carlos De Oliveira, during the first of two conflicts hearings last week. De Oliveira said he understood the risks of having a lawyer with conflicted interests but chose to proceed with his attorney, John Irving, anyway.

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Nauta was poised to make the same decision at the second of the two hearings on Oct. 12. Before he did, Woodward argued that the Trump aide could not immediately decide in light of new legal argument sprung upon them by prosecutor David Harbach.

Harbach had suggested that Woodward's continuing obligation to his clients extended beyond the need to protect their confidences during cross-examination. He said Woodward would be precluded from undermining their credibility during closing arguments to the jury, too.

The position seemed to confound the defense attorneys and judge and wasn't included in the government's legal briefs filed ahead of the hearing. Cannon admonished Harbach and the rest of the special counsel team for "wasting the court's time" and ended the hearing early.

Friday's hearing, meant to finish what last week's started, lasted roughly one hour. Cannon briefed Nauta on Woodward's conflicts of interest and their potential consequences before asking repeatedly if he wished to proceed with the attorney anyway.

Like De Oliveira, Nauta answered "Yes."

The judge said she could overrule his decision if she felt the conflicts were enough to undermine public confidence in the proceedings. She did not indicate that she would do so.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Classified documents judge warns of defense attorney's divided loyalties