Gaffney provided several explanations for defying the court, including that Ma was passing untrue information about his client to the FBI. He did not offer specifics, but POLITICO reported in May that Justice Department officials had made inquiries regarding Bennett’s lobbying work for foreign government clients.

“The plaintiff, we believe, was making false statements to the FBI and the federal government about my client’s activities,” Gaffney said. The FBI and federal authorities “summarily withdrew themselves ... once they realized there was nothing there,” Bennett’s attorney asserted.

Justice Department officials have declined to comment on whether any investigation into Bennett or his firm, Avenue Strategies, is underway or has been completed.

But Fogleman said ignoring the court’s order to turn over information related to the civil suit was not the proper way to address such concerns. The judge said Bennett’s camp could have sought to limit discovery, postpone related deadlines or make certain material confidential, but never made any such request.

“It was the wrong decision,” the judge said. “The simple answer is: file a motion for a protective order. The answer is not: just ignore it and see how long we can string this out.”

Gaffney also said he was alarmed by receiving calls from POLITICO following various filings in the civil case in recent months and concluded that a “smear campaign” against his client was underway.

“Somebody put POLITICO onto this thing. It was this merging and mishmash of all kinds of minefields that my client could possibly step in,” Gaffney added. “I just thought the greater good here was to protect his reputation. POLITICO jumps into this and it looks like a hatchet job on my client.”

“It almost seems, your honor, every time we file something in the clerk’s office, POLITICO would know,” Gaffney complained. “It seems every motion we file gets reported.”

Bennett served as campaign manager for Ben Carson’s 2016 campaign and then became an adviser to the Trump campaign. After former President Donald Trump’s election, he and Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski opened Avenue Strategies, a lobbying shop with an office just blocks from the White House. The firm’s international wing, Avenue Strategies Global, represented a host of big-spending clients over the years, including Citgo, Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko, and the governments of Qatar and Zimbabwe.

Ma, who was a top policy and communications adviser to Carson’s campaign and then also aided the Trump campaign, contends she had a deal with Avenue to bring in potential clients.

Bennett’s firm was seen as one of only a few with good access to the Trump White House, but after Joe Biden’s victory, Bennett announced earlier this year that Avenue was closing down. He attributed the decision to Black Lives Matter protests in downtown Washington, D.C., and to the impact of the coronavirus.

Bennett said he planned to join a new firm, but a federal lobbying disclosure report shows he relaunched In March under the name Bennett Strategies LLC. During the court hearing, Gaffney said one reason he and his client did not comply with the discovery order was that Gaffney was “worried sick” that doing do would cause Bennett’s career “to go further down the tubes.”

Despite the fact that both Bennett and Ma are vocal Trump supporters, Gaffney suggested Tuesday that the litigation was some kind of retribution against his client over his backing of Trump.

“It would appear the whole reason we’re even talking today is because my client worked for President Trump,” Gaffney said.

Bennett’s attorney also drew the judge’s ire for suggesting that someone in the clerk’s office may have been intentionally misrouting filings in the case, but offering no proof of any misconduct.

“I resent that,” Fogleman said. “That is certainly not the way to argue a case….We don’t deal in the courthouse with something called alternative facts….There’s no such thing as alternative facts. We don’t deal with conspiracy theories.”

Gaffney pleaded with the judge to lift the default order, saying he was responsible for the handling of the case and it would be a “gross injustice” to essentially forbid Bennett from mounting a defense on the claim he breached a contract with Ma.

However, Ma’s lawyer said moving forward with discovery now would drag the case out even further.

“This is not just 18 months we’re talking about. We’re talking two years that the defendant just didn’t reply,” Albert Moseley II said. “This will end up going another year.”

Ultimately, Fogleman declined Bennett’s request to lift the default judgement which also appeared to include a partial freeze on Bennett’s assets. In addition to the delay, the judge said he lacked confidence that Bennett would comply with the order to exchange information.

“It makes no sense to this court to order the defendant to do something they’ve already been ordered to do and refused to comply with…It’s like saying, 'This time, I really mean it,'” the judge added. “It undermines the court’s authority and it’s nonsensical to order something to be done that was already ordered to be done.”

With the default judgment remaining in place, the only issue left in the case is the amount of damages — if any — that Bennett and his firm will be ordered to pay to Ma for breach of contract. A hearing on that question is set for Sept. 2.

Caitlin Oprysko contributed to this report.