The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump delivered multiple blows to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s efforts in a brief Monday.
Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida – who is presiding over the case that stems from a Miami grand jury’s June indictment of Trump – denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for sealed filings, striking two from the record. Cannon also requested additional information from prosecutors about the continued use of an out-of-state grand jury to investigate the case.
“The Special Counsel states in conclusory terms that the supplement should be sealed from public view ‘to comport with grand jury secrecy,’ but the motion for leave and the supplement plainly fail to satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement,” Cannon wrote in the brief, denying the DOJ’s request.