(NationalUSNews.com) — The presiding judge in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case has chastised Trump’s co-defendant and valet for missing a filing deadline for an amended motion, resulting in the judge threatening sanctions upon further delays.
Judge Aileen Cannon criticized Trump’s valet, Waltine Nauta, after Nauta missed a deadline in the criminal case. Cannon said that unless Nauta takes action to correct the error, she would impose sanctions against the defense. Nauta’s tardiness comes just weeks after Cannon warned Nauta of a similar mistake, which delayed the criminal trial.
Nauta attempted to correct the filing tardiness by submitting the overdue motion, but Cannon pointed out that Nauta failed to follow the court’s guidelines regarding an order to show cause, which would provide the court with an explanation for the filing delay. Cannon provided Nauta yet another opportunity to fix the mistake, requiring Nauta to provide an order to show cause to the court by June 3 to explain the cause of the filing delay. Nauta originally had until May 28 to file the corresponding documents, making Cannon and other legal experts question Nauta’s ability to fulfill the court’s orders.
Cannon’s criticism of Nauta is the latest hiccup in the Mar-a-Lago case, which has faced numerous setbacks and potential issues over the last few months. One such problem occurred in May when Cannon’s court released several documents that featured details about an argument between Trump’s defense attorneys and Jack Smith, who oversaw the initial investigation into the classified documents case. In the documents, Trump’s team accused Smith of engaging in misconduct and violating Trump’s right to due process, guaranteed in the United States Constitution.
When Cannon released the documents to the public, the judge also called for Nauta to file an edited version of a motion from September 2023. The motion featured information about various witnesses that Nauta’s attorney, Stanely Woodward, intended to call to testify during the trial. Cannon called for Nauta to remove information about potential witnesses’ identities and to have the amended motion turned in by May 28, 2024. The redacted motion features several other possible issues for the prosecution, including allegations of the prosecution influencing a former client of Woodward’s.
While the Mar-a-Lago case remains in the preliminary stages of a criminal proceeding, legal experts believe Trump could stand trial for the classified documents case later this year. According to several sources tied to the case, Cannon likely favors Trump and his defense attorneys, which could result in a more favorable outcome for the former president.
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