'Garbage argument': Classified docs hearing gets heated over charges against Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta
Source: ABC News
May 22, 2024, 4:06 PM
A hearing in former President Donald Trump's federal classified documents case got heated at times on Wednesday as prosecutors with special counsel Jack's Smith's office became frustrated with what they called "nonsense" arguments presented by Trump's co-defendant Walt Nauta in his effort to have the indictment against Nauta dismissed. "That was difficult to sit through for lots of reasons," prosecutor David Harbach said of arguments made by Nauta's attorney Stanley Woodward. "It's a garbage argument to begin with."
Nauta, Trump's longtime aide, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate pleaded not guilty last August to obstruction charges related to alleged attempts to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage, after Trump pleaded not guilty in June to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House.
Prosecutors have accused Nauta of lying to the FBI in May of 2022 when he told agents that that he was unaware of boxes being brought to Trump's residence and said he didn't know where they had been stored before they were taken there. Nauta's attorneys are seeking to have the charges against him dismissed on the basis that he is being "selectively" and "vindictively" prosecuted by investigators.
At Wednesday's hearing, Woodward said Nauta was being "selectively prosecuted," as there were numerous others who also moved boxes at Mar-a-Lago but are not being prosecuted. Harbach disputed that contention, saying there is "not a person who did everything Nauta did" -- including allegations of perjury and efforts to destroy evidence. "The only people who are comparable to him are his co-defendants," Harbach said.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/garbage-argument-classified-docs-hearing-gets-heated-charges/story?id=110467763
PortTack
(32,942 posts)republianmushroom
(14,635 posts)TomSlick
(11,230 posts)"Frivolous" and "garbage" mean the same thing but "frivolous" more clearly implies a violation of Rule 11.
forgotmylogin
(7,565 posts)It's not like they spin a big wheel and go "Let's see who we're going to randomly charge for this crime!"
DENVERPOPS
(9,113 posts)is purely farcical.........She has been hammered by legal judges above her for already doing things that in no way were proper in court proceedings.....and she had to go back and correct her misdeeds....
I am, at this point, convinced that every trial for Trump will be delayed and intentionally screwed up until after the election, so that if he wins, they will immediately all be thrown out................
This is not only a joke, it is an absolute TRAVESTY of justice.........Just the way the Repubs and Trump like to rule !!!!!!
This includes, regretfully, the UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.......And if we think the Repubs are bad now, just wait for the next 5+ months leading up to the election, and Katie Bar The Door if they corruptly get Trump in office......
If he gets into office again, his band of merry trump humping voters will get kicked under the bus, as they will never be needed again, since the elections from then on will be rigged to the max, just like in Russia and other Tyrannies. At that point his voters may or may not realize how badly they were conned, and played.....who knows.......
WASF
KS Toronado
(17,846 posts)"The judge did not rule from the bench and said she would take the motions "under advisement."