For several months, the Federal District Court in Washington has been ground zero for the Justice Department’s various attempts to deal with the legacy of former President Donald J. Trump.
The courthouse, which sits on Constitution Avenue, is where hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, were tried. It is where a grand jury investigated Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents, a case in which charges were eventually filed in Florida. And that’s where a separate grand jury continues to examine the former president’s efforts to nullify the 2020 election in a case in which Mr Trump was recently told he could soon face impeachment.
On Thursday, two of these legal proceedings collided in an unusual spectacle, as a federal judge pulled the prosecutor leading the election meddling case out of a grand jury proceeding and called him into his courtroom. The judge, Trevor N. McFadden, was apparently upset that the prosecutor, Thomas P. Windom, kept a lawyer representing a witness before the grand jury from appearing in time for the reading of a verdict on January 6 for a defendant whom the lawyer also represented.
While the incident ended quickly and appeared to have resulted in little more than a public display of tension, it nonetheless reflected the complexities that have resulted from Mr. Trump’s packed legal calendar.
The former president has now been indicted in Florida in the classified documents case and in New York on charges involving hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election. He could soon be indicted twice more — in Washington and Georgia — in connection with his efforts to tamper with the 2020 election. All of this, unfolding even as Mr. Trump runs again, has put enormous strain on everyone involved — from the courts to the lawyers involved in the various legal efforts surrounding him.
The lawyer involved in the episode on Thursday, Stanley Woodward Jr., is among the busiest in Washington these days. Mr. Woodward has worked for several defendants since Jan. 6 — including one convicted last year of seditious conspiracy — while also representing Walt Nauta, Mr. Trump’s co-defendant in the classified documents case, and several witnesses involved in the grand jury investigations related to Trump.
Thursday’s events began when Mr. Woodward escorted one of his clients, Will Russell, a former aide to Mr. Trump, to his third appearance before one of the grand juries looking into the former president’s attempts to nullify the election.
Mr. Russell, who worked as an aide to Mr. Trump in the White House and later went to work for him in his post-presidential office, was a witness in both that investigation and the one related to Mr. Trump’s retention of classified documents. Investigators also sought information from him related to an investigation into Mr. Trump’s fundraising from his false claims about widespread fraud affecting the election.
On Thursday, Mr. Russell was asked a series of questions about his interactions with Mr. Trump before the former president’s departure from the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter. More than once, Mr. Russell stood up and left the proceedings to consult with Mr. Woodward after prosecutors asked questions related to his discussions with Mr. Trump, the person familiar with the matter said.
The problems began when Mr. Russell’s appearance before the grand jury ran long, causing Mr. Woodward to be late for the reading of a bench trial for one of his Capitol riot clients before Judge McFadden. The client, Federico Klein, who served as an official in the State Department during Mr. Trump’s administration, was ultimately found guilty of seven felonies, including assaulting the police and obstructing an official proceeding before Congress.
But before Judge McFadden handed down the verdict, he asked Mr Woodward why he had been delayed. When the judge learned it was because of the grand jury, he sent court officials to summon Mr. Windom, who works for the special counsel, Jack Smith.
When Mr. Windom appeared in the courtroom, Judge McFadden made him sit through part of the reading of Mr. Klein’s verdict.
It was only after the verdict was handed down that Judge McFadden conferred with Mr. Windom and Mr. Woodward. But the side conversation was private conducted outside of the public.
Mr. Russell’s grand jury appearance was just one indication that Mr. Smith’s team is continuing to investigate election interference even after sending Mr. Trump a so-called target letter saying he could soon be indicted on at least three counts.
Prosecutors are also trying to schedule a voluntary interview with Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York police commissioner who worked closely with Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, investigating claims of fraud after the election. Mr. Giuliani sat for his own voluntary interview with Mr. Smith’s office last month.
Zach Montague contributed reporting from Washington.