In a rare Sunday filing, Judge Aileen Cannon sharply criticized Special Counsel Jack Smith for his dirty tricks in Trump’s classified documents case.
Jack Smith has repeatedly warned that revealing the names of government witnesses poses a “significant, immediate” threat to their safety.
The Special Counsel has been vigorously working to keep the names of government witnesses a secret. He also opposed unsealing discovery materials, arguing that one document reveals the existence of another FBI investigation.
In a five-page order, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, expressed her “disappointment” with Jack Smith for selectively demanding redactions for “witness safety” only when it benefits him, while ignoring those concerns at other times.
“[The] Court deems it necessary to express concern over Special Counsel’s treatment of certain sealed materials in this case. In two separate filings related to sealing, the Special Counsel stated, without qualification, that he had no objection to full unsealing of previously sealed docket entries related to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct,” Cannon wrote.
“Nowhere in that explanation is there any basis to conclude that the Special Counsel could not have defended the integrity of his Office while simultaneously preserving the witness-safety and concerns he has repeatedly told the Court, and maintains to this day, are of serious consequence, and which the Court has endeavored with diligence to accommodate in its multiple Orders on sealing/redaction. The Court is disappointed in these developments,” she added.
Cannon “granted in part and denied in part” Jack Smith’s motions requesting redactions in Trump’s defense filings.
“Finally, to the extent the Special Counsel asserts a need for continued secrecy over the subject material under Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Court accepts that rationale despite concerns about the Special Counsel’s use of Rule 6(e) as a basis for continued secrecy, and authorizes the requested sealing/redactions subject to potential further review,” the Judge wrote.
Earlier this month, Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely postponed Jack Smith’s classified documents trial against Trump.
The judge vacated the May 20, 2024, trial date after Jack Smith admitted that the FBI had mishandled the boxes containing “classified” documents seized from Trump.
The DOJ had previously assured the court that the classified documents were kept in the same condition as when they were originally found, however, it was a lie.
It could be several months before Judge Cannon sets a new trial date.
