Aileen Cannon Grants Jack Smith's Request

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents case has denied the former president’s co-defendants access to the sensitive materials they are accused of concealing at Mar-a-Lago.

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents case has denied the former president’s co-defendants access to the sensitive materials they are accused of concealing at Mar-a-Lago.

The Context

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 federal charges over allegations he illegally retained classified and top secret documents when he left office in January 2021, and then obstructed the federal attempt to retrieve them.

Trump’s co-defendants in the federal case, aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira are also accused of moving boxes of sensitive materials around Trump’s Florida home to prevent federal agents from finding them, and conspiring to delete security footage at Mar-a-Lago which had been sought under subpoena.

Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against them, including conspiracy to obstruct justice.

What We Know

Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the classified documents trial, has headed numerous Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) discussions with Trump’s lawyers and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team, to deal with how the sensitive materials connected to the case should be handled during proceedings.

Smith’s office had previously filed a motion asking that Cannon refuse Nauta and De Oliveira’s request to view the confidential presidential records they are accused of moving around Mar-a-Lago in boxes, arguing it was not necessary for their defense.

In response, Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump and has frequently faced accusations of favoring the former president in her judgments, has sided with Smith after ruling he had “carried his burden” to withhold the materials from Nauta and De Oliveira.

“The Special Counsel has made a sufficient showing that Defendant Nauta and De Oliveira’s personal review of the materials produced in classified discovery would not be ‘relevant and helpful’ to their defense,” Cannon wrote.

“Unlike the charges brought against Defendant Trump, the document-related charges against Defendants Nauta and De Oliveira do not require proof that they willfully retained documents ‘relating to the national defense.’ The Special Counsel also indicates that he does not intend to present evidence suggesting that Defendants Nauta and De Oliveira acted with an inculpatory purpose specific to them and to the 102 classified-marked documents seized from Mar-a-Lago,” Cannon added.

The judge also ruled that Nauta and De Oliveira failed to explain why being able to review the classified materials connected to the case would help counter the allegation that they conspired to help Trump retain the sensitive materials taken from the White House, and then tried to hide and conceal them from a federal grand jury.

Nauta and De Oliveira’s lawyers have been contacted for comment via email.

Views

Brian D. Greer, former attorney at the CIA’s Office of General Counsel, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Cannon did the right thing by not permitting Nauta & De Oliveira to access the classified MAL docs.

“But don’t overlook the epic self-own here. Because of this effort, she has now been extensively briefed on the contents of those docs & why their disclosure is harmful to national security.”

What Next

Cannon will rule on a similar classified documents motion put forward by Trump’s legal team, who are requesting access to a smaller batch of sensitive materials. Smith’s team have argued against the motion over national security sensitivity concerns.

A scheduling conference is also set to take place on March 1, where Cannon could confirm or delay the start of the classified documents trial, currently scheduled for May 20.

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