The judge who supervises Donald TrumpThe case over secret documents of 's rejected a motion to dismiss charges against the co-defendant and longtime adviser to the former president, Walt Nauta.
Nauta's lawyers sought to have the charges against him dismissed by arguing that he was being pursued “selectively” and “vindictively” by investigators – a claim that Judge Aileen Kanon discussed during a hearing in May.
Cannon, in an order issued Saturday, denied the motion to dismiss the case, saying Nauta had failed to prove the prosecution was “motivated by a discriminatory purpose” or that others who had engaged in similar conduct had not been prosecuted.
Nauta — who worked for Trump in the White House before accompanying him to Florida after Trump’s presidency — has pleaded not guilty to eight charges as part of the criminal case involving Trump’s handling of classified documents. The charges include conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Nauta's attorneys argued, among other things, that he was “discriminatorily prosecuted” because he invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify before a grand jury investigating alleged suppression of classified documents and obstruction of justice. Cannon, however, was not convinced that Nauta's decision not to testify led to the charges.
“Even if the court were to accept that Defendant Nauta exercised his Fifth Amendment right, there is no evidence to show that Defendant Nauta's exercise of his privilege to opt out of his sentencing grievance motivated the charges against him,” Cannon wrote.
Judge Cannon is still considering a similar argument from Trump's lawyers. In her ruling today, she noted that her denial of Nauta's motion had no bearing on Trump's argument.
“This order should not be construed as a comment on the merits of Defendant Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment on the basis of selective and vindictive prosecution or on any other motion pending before the Court,” Cannon wrote.
In a separate order issued Saturday, Cannon postponed some deadlines in the case after Trump requested a stay of proceedings in light of the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.
She ordered additional information on the impact of the Supreme Court ruling ahead of the July 22 status conference on the case.
Judge denies Trump adviser's motion to dismiss charges over secret documents Originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
