Stanley Woodward, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump's valet, reportedly claims in court papers that a top federal prosecutor brought up his application for a judgeship while trying to gain the valet's cooperation in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
In a report in The Guardian newspaper, Woodward was identified as the lawyer. He represents Walt Nauta — the valet who has been under scrutiny over his accounts of whether he moved boxes of documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida, according to NBC News.
The Guardian said Woodward's claim was made in a letter filed under seal with the chief federal judge in Washington.
The newspaper claimed that Jay Bratt, chief of counterintelligence for the Justice department, brought up the judgeship during a November meeting with Woodward. At the time, prosecutors wanted to convince Nauta to cooperate with the government against Trump, the letter reportedly said.
Prosecutors had reportedly warned the lawyer that Nauta should cooperate and was at risk of a false statement charge because of conflicting testimony.
According to The Guardian, the letter reportedly claimed that Bratt told Woodward that he did not think that Woodward was a "Trump guy" and that "he would do the right thing."
Bratt noted that he knew Woodward had submitted an application to be a judge at the superior court in Washington, D.C., that was currently pending, the letter reportedly claimed.
The Guardian said the allegation, in essence, is that Bratt indicated Woodward's application to be a judge might be considered in a more favorable light if he and his client cooperated against Trump.
NBC News reported that Trump's Save America PAC has paid fees to Woodward and his partner Stand Brand. The network said they represent a number of witnesses in the investigation.
A spokesman for the Justice Department declined comment on The Guardian story. Woodward did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Trump, in a posting on Truth Social on Wednesday, had written: "Shocking! One of the top prosecutors at the Department of Injustice was reportedly so obsessed with "getting Trump" that he tried to bribe & intimidate a lawyer representing someone being targeted & harassed to falsely accuse & fabricate a story about President Donald J. Trump & a crime that doesn't exist. This criminal & salacious act from within the DOJ has brought shame & embarrassment to this once great & respected institution. Because of this, there is now extreme turmoil inside the DOJ…"
Trump said Thursday that the Department of Justice informed him that a federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, had indicted him in the case.