Judge Refuses DOJ Request to Restrict Trump Lawyers’ Handling of Classified Info in Documents Case

Documents seized during the Aug. 8 raid by the FBI of former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., in a photo released on Aug. 30, 2022. FBI via The Epoch Times

A federal judge in former president Donald Trump’s presidential records case has denied prosecutors’ request for a highly restrictive order governing how defense lawyers can share classified information with their clients in this case.

In a comment posted to the federal courts records system on July 19, a day after a pretrial conference in the case, Judge Aileen Cannon reported that she turned down the motion that prosecutors had filed on July 17.

Prosecutors were seeking a protective order (pdf) that would govern how lawyers for Mr. Trump and his aide, co-defendant Walt Nauta, would share classified information—a central issue in the case.

SCIF Requirement Sought

In that proposed order, prosecutors said they want to require defense attorneys to hold any discussions or material reviews inside a special secure facility. Such a site, known as a “sensitive compartmented information facility” (SCIF), recently came into the public lexicon when congressional leaders said they were required to go into a SCIF to view documents about the investigation of a bribe purportedly paid to Joe Biden during his tenure as vice president.

The judge said she was denying the request “without prejudice,” meaning that prosecutors would maintain the right to refile such a request again in the future.

The only other comment listed on the “paperless” entry indicated that the judge dismissed the proposed order “for lack of meaningful conferral.”

That statement apparently was referring to a footnote indicating that prosecutors and defense lawyers had been unable to set a date to discuss the proposed order prior to the July 18 pretrial conference. But prosecutors said they filed it anyway because such an order is required before any exchange of classified information can begin.

Special Act Applies

Regardless of the denial or the judge’s rationale for it, prosecutors point out that documents with classification markings are part of the case and “will be subject to procedures outlined in the Classified Information Procedures Act.”

That act requires judges to issue an order “to protect against the disclosure of any classified information disclosed by the United States to any defendant in any criminal case,” if prosecutors request such an order, prosecutors wrote in their motion.

“When classified information is involved, protective orders are to be issued whenever the government discloses classified information to a defendant in connection with a prosecution.”

A chief information security officer has been appointed in the case, prosecutors said, and that officer has reviewed the proposed order that Judge Cannon denied.

Trial Date to Be Set

The case filed against Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta a month ago centers around a 38-count indictment. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta have pleaded not guilty.

Five charges accuse both defendants of concealing subpoenaed documents. In two separate counts, each defendant is accused of making false statements about the investigation.

But the bulk of the charges, 31 counts, are aimed at Mr. Trump under the Espionage Act. As The Epoch Times previously reported, “most of the act is unrelated to espionage.” He is charged under a section that makes it unlawful to “willfully retain national defense information.”

After he left the presidency, Mr. Trump took presidential documents to his home at Mar-a-Lago, Florida; some had classification markings.

He says he had a right to do so under the Presidential Records Act, and that all presidents in modern history have been given the opportunity to cull personal records from government ones. He also maintains that the act gives the president sole authority to decide which records are declassified.

Mr. Trump says that federal agencies are treating President Biden very differently in a number of instances, including ones related to his possession of classified records from his time as vice president and as a U.S. senator. Those positions lack the authority to declassify records. A special counsel was still investigating Mr. Biden’s handling of records.

An investigation into fewer records possessed by Mr. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, concluded without charges being filed. Both Mr. Pence and Mr. Biden have stated that they kept the records unknowingly.

Judge Cannon was expected to set a trial date soon after hearing lawyers’ arguments on July 18 in Fort Pierce, Florida. She also was expected to issue a complete order regarding her denial of the prosecution’s protective-order request. That order was not available as of 2 p.m. Eastern on July 19.

Hans Mahncke contributed to this story.