- Trump is expected to return to court, this time in a classified documents case
- Judge Aileen Cannon ruled in his favor last week when she revealed the witness list.
- Monday’s hearing revolves around classified documents at the center of the case
Former President Donald Trump returned to court Monday morning, this time to a secure facility inside a Florida courthouse where lawyers will examine classified materials discovered during a search at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump returned to Judge Aileen Cannon’s courtroom, days after she ruled in his favor on his attorney’s request to release a list of witnesses in the case, in a move the special counsel said would “expose witnesses and others to intolerable and unnecessary risks.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, and lawyers for the opposing sides will deal with the classified and sensitive material at the center of the case. They will meet inside a secure room installed in the courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, known as the Sensitive Compartmented Information Center.
It’s the kind of setup Trump would have been accustomed to as president, although his impeachment also accuses him of discussing classified materials in less secure settings like his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Former President Donald Trump visited a Florida courthouse where lawyers are meeting to discuss classified materials found at Mar-a-Lago.
His appearance comes just days after special counsel Robert Hur released an explosive report on President Joe Biden’s classified documents case, explaining why the president would not be charged but also calling him an “old” man who repeatedly struggled to remember details during interviews.
Trump and his co-defendants will present arguments on any classified information that “may be relevant or useful to the defense.”
Smith is then expected to present information to Cannon outside the presence of Trump’s lawyers. ABC Informed news.
Judge Cannon is balancing the Trump team’s demands that the information be made public with Smith’s claims that it could put people at risk.
In a filing Wednesday, he asked to submit information under seal because “the evidence describes in some detail the threats that have been made via social media to a potential government witness and the surrounding circumstances, and the fact that those threats are “the subject of an ongoing investigation.” federal investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office.
Trump was charged last year with possessing national security information and defying a grand jury subpoena to turn over information that came from the White House to his private club after he left office.
Trump’s classified documents case got a mention in Hur’s report on Biden, although it was his comments on Biden’s memory and the president’s explosive response amid a series of gaffes when speaking about world leaders that took center stage. headlines.
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers and federal prosecutors will face off in a Florida court over classified and sensitive materials discovered at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump returned to court days after criticizing NATO allies who do not set defense spending targets and said he would “encourage” Russia to invade them. ‘I said, ‘Didn’t you pay? Are you a criminal?’… ‘No, I wouldn’t protect you, in fact I would encourage them to do whatever they wanted. You have to pay’.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Federal Court Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Fort Pierce, Fla., for a closed-door hearing in his criminal case accusing him of mishandling classified documents.
“Unlike the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment against Mr. Trump, if proven, would present serious aggravating facts,” Hur wrote.
‘In particular, after being given multiple opportunities to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite. According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for many months, but also obstructed justice by recruiting others to destroy evidence and then lying about it. Instead, Biden turned over classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, agreed to searches at multiple locations, including his own home, and submitted to a voluntary interview. and cooperated in other ways with the investigation,” he said.