DOJ officials told D.C. lawyer Stanley Woodward—who is representing Trump assistant Walt Nauta—that his application for a judgeship might depend on how he handled his client, suggesting that they were demanding that Woodward counsel Nauta to testify against Trump, said Trump lawyer Jim Trusty on CNN. Federal prosecutor Jay Bratt, head of the counterintelligence section of DOJ’s National Security Division “along with five other people in his presence from the DOJ, extorted a very well respected, very intelligent lawyer from Washington, D.C., saying, essentially, if you want this judgeship that’s on Joe Biden’s desk, you have to flip your guy to cooperate against the President of the United States,” Trusty said.
Britain’s the Guardian reports on the matter, saying that Woodward filed a complaint (under seal) to the court about the conduct. The daily describes what happened at the meeting:
“Bratt then turned to Woodward and remarked that he did not think that Woodward was a ‘Trump guy’ and that ‘he would do the right thing,’ before noting 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 said.
