Yuscil Taveras, the director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago has agreed to cooperate with Special Counselor Jack Smith in exchange that he will not be prosecuted in the federal case over TFG’s handling of classified documents. Although Taveras has not been charged with any crimes, prosecutors threatened him with prosecution until they reached a deal.
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.
Woodward wrote in the filing Wednesday that he “played no role” in Taveras’ cooperation and said that prosecutors did not offer Taveras the cooperation deal until after Taveras got a different lawyer. Woodward asked the judge to block Taveras from testifying in any eventual trial.
