Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida denied the DOJ’s request for sealed filings and questioned its use of D.C. grand juries in the Mar-a-Lago case.
Special Counsel Jack Smith asked for a Garcia hearing regarding attorney Stanley Woodward Jr. A Garcia hearing is:
Garcia hearing refers to hearing held under criminal procedure to ensure that a defendant who is one of two or more defendants represented by the same attorney realizes the following :1.that there is a risk of conflict of interest inherent in the joint representation ;2.that s/he is entitled to the services of an attorney who does not represent anyone else in the defendant’s case.
Smith asked for one because of “possible conflicts of interest that may arise from” Woodward’s “prior and current representation of three individuals” he might call to testify in Waltine Nauta’s trial, who Woodward is representing.
Nauta, like Trump, is accused of concealing or withholding documents along with “taking part in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.” He pleaded not guilty.
An indictment in July alleges Trump and Nauta tried to get a “Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker delete security camera footage in order to prevent it from being provided to the grand jury.”
Smith also asked “for leave to file under seal a ‘supplement’ containing additional information ‘to facilitate the Court’s inquiry.'” He insisted that the ‘supplement’ should be sealed “to comport with grand jury secrecy.”
Cannon said Smith did not “satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement.”
Cannon gave Nauta until August 17 to file a motion regarding a Garcia hearing.
But Cannon also said the response from Nauta should address Smith “using an out-of-district grand jury to investigate and/or seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district.”
Smith has until August 22 to respond to Cannon’s concerns about the grand jury by August 22.
The case is handled in Cannon’s Fort Pierce, FL, courtroom. However, most of the grand jury work is happening through a D.C. grand jury.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY