Did the circuit court err in holding that a federal habeas court may never hold a hearing on a punishment issue without first considering 28-U.S.C-2254(e)(2)'s threshold inquiry as required by Williams-v-Taylor?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW (CAPITAL CASE) L Did the circuit court err in holding that a federal habeas court may never hold a hearing on a punishment issue without first considering 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (e)(2)’s threshold inquiry as required by Williams v. Taylor? I. Does the Fifth Circuit’s two-pronged agency test for Sixth Amendment Massiah claims, which is not followed by other circuit courts, conflict with this Court’s Sixth Amendment Jurisprudence. II. Did the lower courts misapply the rule established in Harrington v. Richter and Johnson v. Williams by applying AEDPA deference to a constitutional claim that was granted by the state court, but for which the state court failed to consider harm, and should the lower courts have instead applied the rule established by Wiggins v. Smith and its progeny? i