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.