The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case has issued another big ruling seen as favorable to him.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon stated that the Aug. 25 date previously established for a hearing on a protective order barring Trump from discussing certain aspects of the case has been canceled for the time being.
Instead, Cannon stated that the proceeding would be held under seal at a later date “to discuss sensitive, security-related issues regarding classified discovery.”
Cannon granted Carlos De Oliveira, the latest co-defendant in the case, an extension until August 22 to present any briefings he wishes to offer regarding the proposed protective order, which will outline the protocols governing the handling of classified evidence during the discovery process.
“Cannon’s move to announce the hearing will be a sealed one comes even as court submissions weighing in on the prosecutor’s request for the protective order – known as a Section 3 motion under the Classified Information Procedures Act – have been filed publicly. It was not clear from the judge’s latest order whether she intended to publicly announce at a later date when and where the sealed hearing would be,” CNN reported.
“Lawyers for Trump and special counsel Jack Smith’s office disagree over the prosecutors’ proposed rules for where Trump can discuss with his lawyers classified evidence handed over to the defense,” CNN noted further.
“Trump has asked to be allowed to reestablish a secure facility at his residence that he used while he was president to hold such discussions, while Smith’s team has argued that such an accommodation would be unprecedented and that his Florida residence’s dual purpose as a ‘social club’ makes such a set-up especially unworkable,” the outlet added.
Previously, Cannon took two of special counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecutors to task, demanding an explanation of “the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district.”
Trump has repeatedly blasted the indictment.
In one Truth Social post, he compared the current allegations against him to the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”
“They knowingly accuse you of a fake crime, a crime that they actually make up, you fight these false charges hard, and they try and get you on ‘obstruction.’ We are dealing with sick and evil people!” he added.
“This is a very sad day for America,” he told reporters at Reagan National Airport after appearing in a DC federal court to face separate charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. He called the case the “persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America.”
