The federal judge overseeing the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump on charges of illegally holding sensitive national security documents on Monday denied the administration’s request to keep secret a list of witnesses with whom Trump did not discuss his case. may discuss.
The ruling of Judge Aileen M. Cannon, in the Southern District of Florida, means that part or all of the list of 84 witnesses may be made public at some point, and provides more details about the form and scope of the case specifically Prosecutor Jack Smith has filed against Mr. Trump.
The government’s request that the names of the witnesses be kept secret “offers no specific basis to justify sealing the list from the public,” Judge Cannon wrote in her brief order. “It does not explain why partial sealing, redaction, or any means other than sealing are unavailable or unsatisfactory, and it does not specify the duration of any proposed sealing.”
One of the conditions a federal magistrate judge placed on Mr Trump when he was released from arraignment this month was a stipulation that prohibited him from discussing the facts in his indictment with any witnesses in the case. The indictment charged Mr Trump with deliberately withholding 31 individual national security documents and obstructing the administration’s repeated efforts to recover them.
While the identities of the witnesses remain unknown, many of them are believed to be aides and advisers close to Trump — including several who work with or worked with him at Mar-a-Lago, his private club, and residence in Florida. As part of the conditions imposed by the magistrate, Trump was also barred from discussing the case with his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, who remains his personal assistant.
Last week, when Mr. Smith’s prosecutors handed over the witness list to Mr. Trump’s legal team, they asked Judge Cannon if they could keep the names secret. In their request, prosecutors noted that Trump’s lawyers had not taken a position on the request to seal the list.
On Monday, a group of news media companies, including DailyExpertNews, filed a motion of their own asking Judge Cannon to make the list public, saying the case against Mr. used to be. ”
“The interest of the American public in this case, and the need to monitor its progress every step of the way, cannot be overemphasized,” the news organizations wrote.
In her ruling, Judge Cannon said the news media’s petition was moot since she rejected the government’s request to seal. It remained unclear from the judge’s order whether Mr. Smith’s office would ultimately place the witness list — perhaps redacted in some way — on a public roll or whether prosecutors would simply be unable to prevent Mr. Trump’s lawyers from make the list of names public. they choose to do this.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mr Smith, did not respond to messages asking for comment.
In a separate order issued Monday, Judge Cannon asked Trump’s legal team to respond before July 6 to Mr Smith’s request to delay the start of the trial until December 11.
Judge Cannon also scheduled a hearing for the parties on July 14 to discuss how to deal with the significant amount of highly sensitive material involved in the case under a law known as the Classified Information Procedures Act. That hearing will be largely, if not entirely, sealed.