Former federal prosecutor Francey Hakes told Newsmax on Thursday the Justice Department must tread lightly if it seeks to pressure Walter Nauta, an aide to Donald Trump, to turn on the former president in the classified documents case.
Nauta on Thursday pleaded not guilty in Miami to charges that he allegedly tried to help Trump hide classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and that he lied to the FBI. Trump pleaded not guilty last month as part of a 37-count indictment that included Nauta's charges.
The Guardian reported last month that Stanley Woodward, Nauta's Washington, D.C., attorney, alleged prosecutorial misconduct by a Department of Justice prosecutor who brought up Woodward's application to be a judge when the DOJ tried to gain Nauta's cooperation last year. Nauta is being represented by Sasha Dadan in Florida.
Hakes told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" with guest host John Huddy that usually, prosecutors would try to pressure a co-defendant to turn on the other, but it might be more difficult after Woodward's allegations, which were filed in a sealed letter with James Boasberg, chief judge for U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
"That's something we would normally see in a case like this, but there's been a really serious allegation of prosecutorial misconduct here where they were trying to put this or DOJ was trying to put the screws to Nauta's attorney and telling him that he, you know, his judgeship was in jeopardy if Nauta didn't testify against the president," Hakes said.
"They better be very, very careful about their communications with Mr. Nauta and his attorney from now on.
"But I don't doubt that they'll try."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.