Judge Cannon lets Trump's body man keep his lawyer with alleged conflicts of interest

Federal judge Aileen Cannon has allowed former President Donald Trump's co-defendant in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, longtime valet and body man Walt Nauta, to continue retaining a lawyer accused of conflicts of interest.

In a new filing flagged by Lawfare's Roger Parloff, Cannon said that Nauta is entitled to waive the conflicts of interest of Stanley Woodward, an attorney who has received money from a PAC tied to Trump, and who has represented two witnesses that prosecutors intend to call at trial.

"After a full coloquy, the Court found that Defendant Nauta made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of any potential or actual conflict of interest arising from Stanley E. Woodward's former and current representation of the two remaining potential witnesses identified in the Special Counsel's Motion[s]," said the order.

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A more detailed opinion on the matter is set to follow.

Cannon, an appointee of Trump, has come under repeated controversy for her decisions throughout the classified documents trial, some of which — particularly an overruled decision transferring classified documents repossessed by federal investigators to a special master — legal experts believe were slanted to help Trump.

Woodward's involvement representing people close to Trump has also faced heavy scrutiny, with one other person he formerly advised, Mar-a-Lago IT worker Yuscil Taveras, changing his story to prosecutors after cutting ties with Woodward and seeking advice from a federal public defender.