The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a motion to prevent former President Donald Trump from publicly disclosing any of the evidence that his legal team will be granted access to by prosecutors as they prepare to defend him in the federal classified documents case.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team requested the protective order in a new filing on Friday, with the presiding judge referring the matter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the search warrant for last year’s FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Smith was appointed as the special counsel in the classified documents case days after Trump announced his presidential candidacy in November last year.
‘Sensitive and Confidential Information’
Smith’s motion for a protective order notes that among the materials that prosecutors will hand over to Trump’s lawyers is information about ongoing investigations, “the disclosure of which could compromise those investigations and identify uncharged individuals.”It also states that the materials include “sensitive and confidential information,” including information that could be used to identify people and that reveals investigative techniques.
The aim of the protective order is to ensure that neither Trump nor his co-defendant Walt Nauta, his presidential valet, reveal any sensitive information that their attorneys gain access to as part of the discovery process. Prosecutors are required to present to the defense teams the evidence that they collect during their investigation.
The filing also indicates that Smith had spoken to attorneys for Trump and Nauta and they raised no objections to the protective order.
Last month, a similar request was made and granted in New York City, where a judge muzzled Trump with a social media gag order related to a separate case involving an alleged hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
‘Baseless Indictment’?
Smith and prosecutors have charged Trump with 37 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents.According to the indictment, Trump held onto classified documents after leaving the White House and refused to return the records when the government demanded them back.
While Trump has publicly said that he had declassified those materials, the indictment alleges he admitted on tape that the materials were classified and that he no longer had the presidential power to declassify them.
After entering his plea, Trump returned to his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, and delivered a speech that attacked the Justice Department, Smith, and other federal officials. He said that Smith is a “raging and uncontrolled Trump hater,” arguing that the special counsel is being selective in his prosecution.
“There was an unwritten rule” to not prosecute former presidents and political rivals, Trump told supporters in a speech at his golf club in New Jersey.
“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of America, Joe Biden, and go after the Biden crime family,” Trump remarked.
He added: “The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponized department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country ... this vicious persecution is a travesty of justice.”
Trump is also facing federal charges following the Manhattan district attorney’s office accusing him of falsifying business records during the 2016 election.
Additionally, he is under investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, and a federal grand jury in Washington is examining his post-2020 election activities.
If convicted on all charges, Trump, 77, could potentially be sentenced to up to 400 years in prison and be subject to fines totaling nearly $9.5 million.
Despite the legal challenges, polls show that Trump remains a leading candidate for the GOP in the 2024 election.
Before Trump was charged in the classified documents case, he told Politico that he will continue running for president even if convicted.
