Judge in Trump Mar-a-Lago classified documents case asks to know why DOJ wants to use an out-of-state grand jury as she delivers Jack Smith multiple strokes
- Judge Aileen Cannon demanded to know why Jack Smith used two grand juries
- Evidence was gathered in DC, even as charges were filed in Florida
The federal judge in Donald Trump’s classified documents case on Monday asked prosecutors why they had used grand juries in Florida and Washington to build their case when indictments were filed in South Florida.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, asked Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team to respond by August 22.
“The response will address the legal appropriateness of using an out-of-county grand jury proceeding to continue the investigation and/or seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the immediately indicted case in this precinct.” , she wrote in a court of law. submit.
Trump appeared in federal court in Miami in June to plead not guilty to charges related to his handling of government documents and an alleged cover-up.
The indictment has since expanded to charge him and two aides – Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveria – with trying to evade government efforts to retrieve some 32 classified documents.
Judge Aileen Cannon (seen here in video during Senate testimony) Monday asked Special Counsel Jack Smith why he used grand juries in Florida and Washington to build their case when indictments were filed in South Florida
Special Counsel Jack Smith applied for a protection order on Friday to prevent former President Donald Trump and his team from sharing discovery materials with unauthorized persons
Much of the case was built in Washington, D.C., where prosecutors questioned witnesses before a grand jury.
But in June, reports surfaced that a second grand jury, this time in Miami, had begun hearing evidence.
Legal experts suggested that could mean charges could be filed in both Florida and Washington.
In a recent lawsuit, prosecutors said they continued to use the Washington grand jury even after Trump was indicted in June when they investigated charges of obstruction.
Cannon asked Smith to justify the use of the two grand juries in a court order that dealt a blow to the special counsel’s strategy.
He had asked for additional evidence to be submitted “under seal” — to prevent it from being published — to protect the secrecy of a grand jury, and he asked the judge for a hearing to determine whether Nauta’s attorney had many conflicts of interest to properly represent his client.
Cannon declined his request to submit sealed evidence.
Cannon slammed Smith’s request to submit sealed evidence in an injunction filed Monday, asking for an explanation of the two grand juries
Late last month, Trump appeared with Walta Nauta in Des Moines Iowa
Carlos De Oliveira, personal assistant to former US President Donald Trump and chief of maintenance at Mar-a-Lago, arrived in federal court in Miami. He is charged with conspiracy to obstruct an investigation of classified documents
“The motion for leave and the supplement clearly falls short of the burden of finding a sufficient legal or factual basis to seal the motion and the supplement,” she wrote.
The case is just one of three facing Trump, even as the 2024 race heats up.
The 77-year-old former president is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
Last week, he appeared in federal court in Washington to plead not guilty to charges that he conspired to defraud the US by preventing Congress from sanctioning Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory, stripping American voters of their right to a fair election .
Police closed roads on Monday and patrolled the Atlanta courthouse with dogs. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is believed to be in the final stages of her investigation into Trump
Food carts stayed away and the otherwise bustling neighborhood was empty on Monday
And in April, he surrendered to authorities in New York, where he is accused of falsifying business records as part of a hush money payment to a porn star. He pleaded not guilty in that case.
Meanwhile, police in Atlanta on Monday erected barriers around the city’s courthouse as the city braces for an indictment in yet another case related to the 2020 election.
Officers closed roads, dogs patrolled the area and food trucks stayed away from the normally busy court.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is in the final stages of her investigation into Trump’s attempts to reverse his defeat in the key state of Georgia.
If charged, it would be the fourth time since March that he has been prosecuted.