| ... the Colombian-born American lawyer serves in the Southern District of Florida. She started out doing corporate law, then was a federal prosecutor, so she knows all the tricks... |
"The parties are reminded of the strong presumption of public access in criminal proceedings," the judge wrote, ordering that no unclassified material in the case be filed under seal going forward.
All filings under full or partial seal will require approval from the judge in the future, unless there are "clear and supported cases of risk to personal safety or national security."
The case, prosecuted by
special counsel Jack Smith, has been dominated by a battle for documents, extending the pre-trial motions stage and delaying what would have been a May 20 trial. Last year, President Trump pleaded not guilty to 40 counts related to allegedly mishandling classified documents.
On Jan. 16, President Trump filed multiple motions to compel discovery and attached several exhibits under seal. Some of these were emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and containing names and identifying information about government officials, which defense attorneys argue show that the prosecution and the Biden administration have colluded to target President Trump.
The defense attorneys have asked to unseal this information, and a coalition of news media companies have sought to intervene to request the same, both arguing that court filings are "matters of public record."
The special counsel’s office has opposed both requests, arguing that there are witness safety and intimidation concerns.
Referencing the First Amendment, Judge Cannon found that "the Special Counsel has not set forth a sufficient factual or legal basis warranting deviation from the strong presumption in favor of public access to the records at issue."
She found the prosecutors’ arguments "sparse and undifferentiated" and lacking the facts she needed to weigh their arguments.
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