Devon Sayers/CNN
Supporters of former President Donald Trump outside the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, Monday, February 12, 2024.
CNN
—
The classified document criminal case against Donald Trump and others is Things heated up again on Monday with a key hearing on access to evidence that could affect whether the former president goes to trial before the November election.
President Trump arrived at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Monday morning for a closed-door hearing with Judge Eileen Cannon without prosecutors present to discuss the case “in detail.” Trump left the courthouse shortly after 2 p.m. ET, waving to the crowd from his car.
Special Counsel Jack Smith's team is scheduled to meet with Cannon on Monday afternoon.
Neither hearing is open to the public.
Defense attorneys will insist on access to confidential evidence in cases they or their clients have not yet seen, but prosecutors and intelligence agencies may only provide summaries of the information due to its sensitivity. They claim that there is, and that they are trying to hide information. According to court records.
Much of the Mar-a-Lago proceedings and filings have been hidden from public view in recent weeks as prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare for the trial.
Sources said the defense team has been working furiously in recent days, including Sunday's Super Bowl, preparing for Monday's hearing, drafting motions and reviewing evidence at a classified intelligence facility in Florida known as SCIF. It is said that he has been active with great vigor. With the team.
In addition to the hearing, a key court filing deadline in two weeks looms as the case continues to strategize on how to delay the trial. They are also in a fight with prosecutors over the publication of the names of witnesses now well ahead of the trial.
Cases involving such sensitive evidence require careful oversight by judges to ensure defense teams have access to the evidence they need to prepare for trial while protecting federal national security secrets. As a result, court proceedings may be extended to determine what confidential evidence can be viewed by defense attorneys and even the defendant. In Mr. Trump's case, delays could be caused by the complexity of the case, the multiple defendants and the number of classified records that are part of the evidence.
A March 1 hearing with Cannon is expected to discuss whether the trial can proceed as planned in May.
The Justice Department previously said it was trying to hide at least 5,500 pages from Trump's co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, some of which had already been shared with their lawyers and Trump's defense. The Committee said that it could be considered by SCIF.
The records kept from the co-defendants are primarily classified documents that the FBI found in a Mar-a-Lago box in August 2022, according to court filings. Lawyers for Mr. Nauta and Mr. de Oliveira have argued that they need more access to “meaningfully discuss the viability” of their defense, and the matter will be discussed in private proceedings on Monday. likely to be discussed.
A smaller group of records is also being kept from Mr. Trump and his lawyers due to federal national security considerations. Mr. Cannon has already heard arguments directly from the special counsel's office once and has seen intelligence agencies make sworn statements about the need to keep some records secret even from the defense team. ing.
At a later date, Cannon will have to decide what evidence it needs to use in public trial and how that information can be presented.
Debate over witness safety and delays
Tensions in the Mar-a-Lago case extend beyond the defense team's access to evidence. The special counsel's office has asked that the names of witnesses who may be called to testify against President Trump at trial not be made public, citing the risk of harassment.
Those witnesses include government officials at the National Archives, more than 20 FBI agents who searched Mar-a-Lago, people with ties to Mr. Trump and his co-defendants, and other career public officials. Smith cited numerous threats against judges, prosecutors and witnesses, including threats against witnesses on social media who are the subject of federal criminal investigations.
Little information has been made public about the behind-the-scenes battles between Mr. Trump, his co-defendants and the special counsel, but the drama over discovery and classified information has left the former president with no choice but to cancel his scheduled May appointment. He has made it clear that he believes the trial start date should be postponed.
President Trump's attempt to delay the trial confirms several recent moves in the court.
Smith made clear his frustration with these efforts, saying in a recent court filing that the defense would “stop at nothing to delay the verdict of the charges against them by a fair and impartial citizen jury.” did.
Smith argued that Trump is using a series of legal challenges that the former president's team says he plans to file as part of an effort to delay the trial. The defense is scheduled to make several key submissions on February 22nd, primarily seeking to have some of the charges removed or the case dismissed. But the defense team said it would depend on Cannon's decision on access to confidential records and hoped to file some documents later.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
