Former President Donald Trump sits in New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization in New York City on Jan. 11, 2024. (PETER FOLEY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Published March 9, 2024
The judge in the classified documents case handed the former president a victory this week.
The federal judge overseeing the Trump classified documents case on Wednesday allowed third-party legal groups to submit friend of the court briefs that could benefit former President Donald Trump.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a paperless order that allows former Trump adviser Stephen Miller‘s America First Legal Foundation to file a brief in the case. She also allowed a submission from former Republican Attorney General Edwin Meese, who argued that special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting the case, was unconstitutionally appointed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The filings may influence the overall outcome of the prosecution against President Trump, who is accused of illegally retaining classified documents after he left the White House and faces 40 charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
“The Court has reviewed the motions and finds that the proposed amici bring to the Court’s attention relevant matter that may be of considerable help to the Court in resolving the cited pretrial motions,” Judge Cannon wrote in the order, referring to the two submissions. “The amicus briefs are accepted for Court consideration.”
The America First brief argued that a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) referral that was made to the DOJ to indict President Trump violated sections of the federal Administrative Procedure Act, arguing that if left alone, it would “dangerously expand the ability of an incumbent President to harass a former President by seizing documents based on the request of any agency for nearly any reason.”
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SOURCE: www.theepochtimes.com
RELATED: Special counsel asks Judge Cannon to label Trump’s immunity claim in classified documents as ‘frivolous’
Published March 8, 2024
Washington CNN — Special counsel Jack Smith is forcefully opposing former President Donald Trump’s sweeping claim of presidential immunity in the criminal case over his handling of classified documents, urging the judge to cut off Trump’s ability to appeal the issue in a way that would delay his trial.
The “immunity claim here is so wholly without merit that it is difficult to understand it except as part of a strategic effort for delay,” Smith’s office wrote in one of a host of legal filings Thursday afternoon.
Trump is charged with taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. He has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment against Trump in Florida, prosecutors said, “does not charge Trump for any acts that he undertook as President, let alone an official presidential act.”
Smith’s office asked Judge Aileen Cannon to certify Trump’s new immunity claim as “frivolous,” which would foreclose the former president’s avenue for an immediate appeal that would delay the trial. An immunity claim is one of the few issues that, if appealed, could derail a trial.
The timelines leading to trial have become a flashpoint in Smith’s two prosecutions.
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SOURCE: www.edition.cnn.com
RELATED: Jack Smith Speaks With Mystery Witness in Trump Case
Published March 7, 2024
Special Counsel Jack Smith has spoken to another mystery witness in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
The Justice Department revealed in a Thursday court filing that federal prosecutors spoke with a witness on Wednesday pertaining to the criminal case against Trump. It is unclear whether this is a witness that the DOJ has already interviewed.
The latest filing is part of the standing discovery order that requires the government to disclose all evidence in its possession, even information that could be favorable to the defendant, to the defense. As part of that order, Smith handed over nine pages to the defense, including a memo of a March 6 interview, suggesting that prosecutors are still speaking with witnesses at this point in the case.
Trump is facing a total of 40 counts in the Mar-a-Lago case. Those include 32 counts of “willful retention of national defense information.” There are two co-defendants in the case: Trump aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira. All three men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
