U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, presiding over the case against former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents, rejected special counsel Jack Smith’s request to set up a private facility in Washington, D.C., to hold classified documents he is required to turn over to the defendants in discovery.
“The parties are advised that production of classified discovery to defense counsel is deemed timely upon placement in an accredited facility in the Southern District of Florida, not in another federal district,” reads the brief order. “It is the responsibility of the Office of the Special Counsel to make and carry out arrangements to deposit such discovery to defense counsel in this District.”
Judge Cannon has been strict about jurisdiction in this case, after the special counsel revealed that a grand jury in Washington, D.C., was still meeting even after the case was assigned to her court. It is illegal to use a grand jury to produce additional information after a defendant has already been indicted.
Trump attorneys had just recently filed a motion accusing the special counsel’s office of not turning over relevant evidence, asking the court to push back the trial date.
“The Special Counsel’s Office has not provided some of the most basic discovery in the case,” the motion reads. “Given the current schedule, we cannot understate the prejudice to President Trump arising from his lack of access to these critical materials months after they should have been produced.”
Mr. Smith responded in a filing that said there was no “credible” reason to postpone the case, and that they already had access to “considerable” amounts of the material.
President Trump’s legal team had also cited being only able to access the classified documents in the “small, temporary” Florida location as a barrier for the busy candidate who is splitting his time between campaigning and attending a civil trial in New York where he stands to lose Trump Organization.
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