(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A federal judge in the Mar-a-Lago case scolded a prosecutor for his seemingly aggressive and erratic behavior while addressing accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, Politico reported on Wednesday.
“I’m going to have to ask that you calm down,” Judge Aileen Cannon sternly told David Harbach, one of the prosecutors hired by Special Counsel Jack Smith to pursue former President Donald Trump.
Harbach’s behavior was triggered by Cannon’s questioning of whether there was evidence that Harbach’s colleague, Jay Bratt, had threatened Stanley Woodward, a defense attorney for Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta.
According to Politico, Bratt allegedly attempted to coerce Woodward into pressuring Nauta to cooperate with the prosecution against Trump.
Bratt suggested to Woodward that President Joe Biden would not appoint him to a federal judgeship if Nauta did not testify against Trump.
However, Harbach denied these claims, calling the alleged meeting a “fantasy” and insisting it “did not happen.”
Despite this denial, Woodward raised other concerning allegations, including that the DOJ singled out Nauta for harsher prosecution.
As reported by Politico, Harbach reiterated the list of accusations raised by the DOJ against Nauta, including allegedly lying to investigators, lying to a grand jury, moving boxes, and deleting video evidence.
Nauta has vehemently denied these claims.
Cannon also instructed Harbach to lower his voice when he whispered something to another prosecutor.
Additionally, she criticized Woodward for rushing through his remarks and reprimanded Harbach for not being prepared to answer questions.
“You should have been prepared to address this,” she said, according to Politico.
The case stems from alleged documents Trump kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The National Archives and Records Administration claims that the documents belongs to them but Trump says they belong to him.
