(Patriot.Buzz) – During a courtroom session, Judge Aileen Cannon, presiding over former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case in Florida, slammed prosecutor David Harbach and told him to “calm down.”
This slamming came after Harbach, a special counsel on Jack Smith’s team, showed visible agitation when responding to inquiries about the preservation of evidence from an August 2022 meeting involving Trump’s defense attorney, Stanley Woodward.
This meeting was a critical component of the defense’s argument to dismiss the indictment on grounds of “selective and vindictive prosecution.”
Harbach’s frustration emerged during discussions about whether evidence from the meeting, which involved Trump aide Walt Nauta—who is co-indicted with Trump—had been properly maintained.
Woodward has previously stated in court documents that during this meeting, a prosecutor implied his chances of obtaining a federal judgeship might be affected by Nauta’s level of cooperation.
Moreover, the prosecutor vehemently dismissed these claims as “garbage” and described Woodward’s account of the meeting as a “fantasy” that “did not happen,” according to ABC News. He further argued that the statements Woodward attributed to prosecutors were taken “out of context.”
ABC News reported that Woodward countered by pointing out that others who had moved boxes at Mar-a-Lago were not facing prosecution and suggested a selective approach by the prosecution.
Adding to the complexities of the case, Judge Cannon had previously put off setting a definitive start date for Trump’s trial, which was originally due this month.
She justified the indefinite postponement by expressing the necessity to “fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions,” stating that locking in a trial date under the current circumstances would be “imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty.”
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