The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump‘s classified documents case rebuked the Justice Department on Monday and demanded an explanation for the use of an “out-of-district grand jury.”
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon‘s Monday order denied special counsel Jack Smith’s request to file two supplements under seal, which prosecutors argued was needed to protect grand jury secrecy. Cannon’s order also asked Smith to explain “the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district.”
“Clerk is directed to Strike from the docket sealed entries 95 and 96,” according to the docket text from the case, which is being handled in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Cannon also gave Trump’s co-defendant Walt Nauta an Aug. 17 deadline to respond to a Justice Department motion from Aug. 2 that informed him that his attorney, Stanley Woodward, has represented “at least seven other individuals who have been questioned in connection with the investigation.” The government requested what is known as a Garcia hearing with Woodward’s client to “inform them of potential risks and inquire into possible waivers.”
Trump and his co-defendants were offered permission to file their own briefs on the grand jury matter by Aug. 17, though Cannon said this was optional. The prosecution is required to file its response by Aug. 22.
It is not immediately clear where the grand jury that Cannon referenced is being convened, but the government on Aug. 2 referenced a grand jury in the District of Columbia and in the Southern District of Florida is still at work over matters related to the Mar-a-Lago case.
“The grand jury in this district and a grand jury in the District of Columbia continued to investigate further obstructive activity,” according to a background section for the government’s Aug 2. motion for the Garcia hearing.
Trump is fending off a 38-count indictment that accuses him of willfully hoarding classified documents, including top secret records, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and conspiring with his valet, Walt Nauta, to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.
The former president was arraigned last week following his indictment on four counts related to his alleged efforts to subvert his 2020 election loss. He has pleaded not guilty in both federal cases.
The Washington Examiner contacted the office of the special counsel.
