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Mar-a-Lago Employee Flips?

07/09/2023
76 3 minutes read
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Yuscil Taveras who worked as an IT worker at Mar-a-Lago has struck a cooperation agreement with the DOJ to testify in President Trump’s federal case regarding classified documents.

Taveras reached a deal after U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office threatened to prosecute Yuscil Taveras for lying to a grand jury.

Before Trump’s indictment, Taveras served as Mar-a-Lago’s head of information technology but now Smith’s office has persuaded him to take a deal and testify in Trump’s case.

It will be interesting to see what exactly Taveras testifies about in Trump’s case and whether he will stay loyal or flip against his boss.

Here’s what Reuters reported:

A key witness in the case accusing former U.S. President Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents after leaving office has entered into a deal with prosecutors to provide testimony, his former attorney said in a Wednesday court filing.

The deal was reached after U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office threatened to prosecute the witness, who is the head of information technology at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, for lying to a grand jury, the attorney, Stanley Woodward, said in the filing.

Woodward currently represents Walt Nauta, one of the two Trump employees also charged in the documents case, in addition to having previously represented the IT head, who is not named in Wednesday’s filing.

Prosecutors have said the employee is likely to testify at trial, posing a potential conflict of interest for Woodward, who will face the prospect of a former client testifying against a current client.

Woodward has not opposed the request for U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, to hold a hearing on the issue. But he suggested in Wednesday’s filing that prosecutors’ handling of the IT manager’s testimony was improper.

The case is one of four criminal prosecutions of Trump, who leads the field seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.

Here’s what CNN reported:

Mar-a-Lago IT worker Yuscil Taveras has struck a cooperation agreement with the special counsel’s office in the federal case over former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, Taveras’ former defense attorney said in a new court filing.

Taveras struck the deal with prosecutors after he was threatened with prosecution, defense attorney Stanley Woodward wrote in the filing dated Tuesday.

Taveras is referred to in the filing and in the superseding indictment as “Trump Employee 4,” and CNN has identified him as that employee.

According to the terms of the deal explained in the filing, Taveras agreed to testify in the classified documents case and in exchange will not be prosecuted. He has not been charged with any crimes.

The filing marks the first public acknowledgment that special counsel Jack Smith has won the cooperation of key witnesses as part of his prosecution of Trump, his longtime valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira.

Prosecutors have argued that Woodward, who now represents Nauta, could face conflicts of interest – particularly if the defense lawyer has to cross-examine his former client – and that the judge overseeing the case should scrutinize those potential conflicts.


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07/09/2023
76 3 minutes read

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