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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to reconsider a prior
ruling that prosecutors argued would have revealed the names of
certain witnesses who spoke to investigators, and subjected them
to intimidation and harassment from Trump and his supporters.
Lawyers for Trump, the Republican challenger to Democratic
President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, attached information
about the witnesses to a legal filing in January seeking
information that they argued would help Trump’s defense.
Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, initially
agreed to make the information public, citing the need for
public access to court records.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, the prosecutor who brought the case,
urged Cannon to reevaluate her ruling, arguing the decision was
legally flawed and would expose witnesses to unnecessary
harassment and possible threats.
Cannon in Tuesday’s updated ruling agreed to redact information
in public filings that would lead to witnesses being identified.
Witnesses for now will be referenced in court papers using
pseudonyms, the judge said.
Trump has repeatedly attacked judges, prosecutors and some known
witnesses in the four criminal cases against him. In two of
those cases -- a federal case accusing Trump of attempting to
subvert the results of the 2020 election and a New York state
prosecution charging him with concealing hush money payments to
a porn star -- judges have imposed gag orders limiting Trump’s
out-of-court statements.
In the classified documents case, Trump has pleaded not guilty
to charges that he illegally kept highly sensitive records after
he left office in 2021 and obstructed government efforts to
retrieve the material.
Trump has accused prosecutors of targeting him in an attempt
harm his campaign.
A trial date in the case remains uncertain.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Heather Timmons and
Leslie Adler)
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