Former President Donald Trump. Photo: Nathan Howard/Bloomberg Trump, Legal Team Must Use Secure Facility to Review Classified Evidence
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a protective order saying that former President Donald Trump and his legal team cannot disclose classified information in the case to anyone other than the court, "government personnel who hold appropriate security clearances and have been determined to have a need-to-know" and others "specifically authorized to access that information."
September 14, 2023 at 12:21 PM
2 minute read
News
A federal judge in the case charging Donald Trump with illegally hoarding top-secret documents at his Florida estate directed the former president on Wednesday to use a secure facility to review classified evidence and sharply restricted his ability to discuss that information with others.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a protective order saying that Trump and his legal team cannot disclose classified information in the case to anyone other than the court, "government personnel who hold appropriate security clearances and have been determined to have a need-to-know" and others "specifically authorized to access that information."
The order from Cannon followed a sealed hearing this week between lawyers for Trump and two other defendants in the case and prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team. It concerned a generally perfunctory, but in this case contested, issue of how the parties should be directed to handle the classified evidence at the center of the indictment.
Lawyers for Trump had sought the right for him to "re-establish" the same secure facility he was previously permitted as president to use to review classified information. Prosecutors strongly objected to the idea of setting up such a facility at Mar-a-Lago, where hundreds of documents marked classified were taken after Trump left office. They said he was seeking special treatment that no other defendant would get.
"In essence, he is asking to be the only defendant ever in a case involving classified information (at least to the Government's knowledge) who would be able to discuss classified information in a private residence," prosecutors wrote. "And of course, The Mar-a-Lago Club is even less suited than most residences to host a secure location, because it is a social club."
Cannon's 16-page order on Wednesday did not reference Mar-a-Lago, suggesting she did not support the Trump request. Instead, she directed Trump and his legal team to use an accredited secure compartmented information facility, or SCIF, to review classified evidence. Cannon also said she's been advised that Trump's lawyers have at least interim security clearances, allowing them to have access to classified information.
Eric Tucker reports for the Associated Press.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Rogge Dunn Represents Florida Trucking Firm in Civil RICO Suit Against Worldwide Express
4 minute read
Step 1 for Successful Negotiators: Believe in Yourself
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
