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Ministry of Justice
The image, included in a court filing by the Department of Justice on August 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, depicts former President Donald Trump’s photo on August 8. It shows photos of documents seized during the FBI search of the A Lago residence. .
CNN
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A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the names of potential witnesses in the classified documents case against Donald Trump will remain secret, resolving one of the issues that had caused an impasse in the criminal case.
After months of debate over what information in court filings should be redacted, Justice Eileen Cannon said releasing names and other identifying information could put people at risk. I agreed with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office on this point.
Mr. Cannon said the prosecution’s redaction request was “broad in nature, applying without distinction to all potential government witnesses,” but Mr. Smith’s team said that “at least for now,” concluded that the details of the matter need to be protected.
The judge’s order will allow more records in the case to be released and witnesses listed in the records will be called by pseudonyms, she said. However, Cannon said witness statements can be used on public documents as long as they do not identify an individual.
Smith had strongly pushed back against an earlier order from Cannon that called for transparency regarding witness identification, citing concerns about witness harassment.
CNN previously reported that the list of potential witnesses includes a number of lower-level workers at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida.
In Tuesday’s order, Cannon faulted the special counsel’s office for not raising all concerns about releasing the names of witnesses at the outset of legal arguments regarding redactions in the case.
“Although the record is clear that the special counsel could have and should have raised the current allegations previously, the court fully considered the new allegations and , I have chosen to reconsider my previous order,” she wrote.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers had argued that he should be able to name potential witnesses, as is often the case in criminal cases.
President Trump and two co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to obstruction charges, and the former president has pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegations of mishandling classified government information. The case is being heard in Cannon Court in Fort Pierce, Florida.
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