Florida’s U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has delivered another blow to the Biden Justice Department in its ongoing case against former President Donald Trump.
Cannon has ruled that a massive trove of classified documents, the third to be released, will be made public in the coming weeks. This ruling is a major setback for special counsel Jack Smith, who has repeatedly attempted to keep these documents redacted due to their sensitive nature.
The ruling comes in response to Trump’s previous claims that Smith had interfered with his ability to strategize with his attorneys. In October, Smith argued that 25 of Trump’s co-defendants cited confidentiality in their refusal to turn over documents related to the January 6th events.
However, the former president has countered, claiming that a previous ruling by D.C. District Judge Beryl Howell invalidated those privileges. Smith retaliated by arguing that Trump had waived his confidentiality when he publicly stated that any actions related to the 2020 election were taken at the advice of his lawyers.
Now, Trump’s defense team must propose redactions for the documents that they believe should remain private. Previous redactions have revealed instances of prosecutor misconduct and coordination between the White House and the National Archives to hide evidence from Trump’s lawyers. Furthermore, Trump’s attorneys have also cited Smith’s attempts to withhold “15 boxes” of classified documents containing sensitive national secrets.
These pretrial rulings by Judge Cannon have also come as she has indefinitely suspended Trump’s classified documents trial, citing delays caused by his ongoing hush money trial in Manhattan. It is possible that Trump’s case may not reach a verdict before the next election.
NEW: Judge Cannon preparing to unseal nonpublic defense motions filed by Trump related to Mar a Lago raid, DC Judge Beryl Howell order that pierced atty-client privilege in docs case, and a prosecutorial abuse motion.
Keeps getting good… pic.twitter.com/7RrNIagnWe
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 9, 2024
This delay is also due in part to the Supreme Court’s hearing on Trump’s claims of presidential immunity. In the meantime, Trump’s legal team will continue to throw everything they can at Smith, including allegations of FBI misconduct.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba, has argued that the FBI intentionally obscured its raid on Mar-a-Lago by ordering the shutdown of security cameras that would have captured the search. Habba has also accused Special Counsel Jack Smith of being a “Democrat activist,” citing potential prejudice against Trump in the case. Overall, Trump’s legal team alleges that the case against him is already tainted by bias and misconduct, particularly during grand jury proceedings.
This ruling by Judge Cannon is a major victory for Trump and his legal team, as it signals a potentially significant setback for the Biden Justice Department and its efforts to hold the former president accountable. The release of these classified documents may reveal even more wrongdoing and corruption by the FBI and other government officials in this case. It is clear that the fight is far from over, and Trump and his attorneys will continue to use every tactic at their disposal to defend against these charges.
🚨 Jack Smith Evidence Tampering‼️#FBI Judge Cannon. #Trump Classified Documents case. pic.twitter.com/nbO2kWBlLp
— Victoria (@PerfectHealth_1) May 7, 2024
