Judge Cannon rules against Trump prosecutors in major case.
U.S. District Court Judge Rejects Request for Protective Order in Trump’s Classified Documents Case
In a recent development in the case against former President Donald Trump regarding mishandling of classified documents, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon has denied a request from special prosecutor Jack Smith’s legal team for a protective order.
Trump vehemently denies the allegations of mishandling classified documents.
Smith’s team had sought the protective order to govern the use of classified documents in the case. According to the Washington Examiner, the government’s filing indicated that the Department of Justice wanted certain materials to be off-limits to Trump’s lawyers.
Judge Cannon, however, rejected the request, citing a lack of meaningful communication between the two sides.
The prosecution’s court filing highlighted that the Classified Information Procedures Act allows the court to issue an order to protect against the disclosure of classified information to any defendant in a criminal case upon the request of the United States.
The issue at hand seems to be the insufficient time given to Trump’s defense team to respond to the prosecution’s request for a protective order.
According to the filing, the government sent the proposed order to Trump’s team on July 12 and received objections from the defense. The prosecution attempted to schedule a call with the defense attorneys on July 14 to address their concerns, but the defense was unavailable until the following week.
Smith’s team wanted the judge to compel Trump’s team to expedite their objections, but instead, the judge rejected the government’s request for a protective order altogether.
While some court watchers find Judge Cannon’s decision “very odd,” others believe that the DOJ did not provide enough time for defense attorneys to review the request, making the decision “not that unusual.”
Very odd to deny the motion vs requiring defense counsel to articulate objections. On Monday, DOJ explained it had reached out to defense counsel on Friday, who did not wish to confer that day or over the weekend. Defense counsel cant get classified docs w/o a protective order. https://t.co/UWosjYsJSi
— Brandon Van Grack (@BVanGrack) July 19, 2023
Giving opposing counsel 2.5 business days to review the CIPA Sec. 3 protective order before filing it was one of the first missteps on DOJ’s part. They should have proposed it much sooner. Also, not that unusual for judges to require an extensive meet & confer process. https://t.co/dGfOf0VLIe
— Secrets and Laws (@secretsandlaws) July 19, 2023
The decision was made “without prejudice,” allowing the government to file a revised motion if desired.
The main point of contention in the ongoing legal wrangling is the trial date. The prosecution aims for a December start, while Trump’s defense team requests a delay until after the 2024 presidential election.
The post Judge Cannon Issues Ruling Against Trump Prosecutors in Big Order appeared first on The Western Journal.
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