By The judge overseeing the Department of Justice trial against former President Donald Trump in Florida has had enough of Jack Smith’s games. Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has had enough of the prosecution trying to hide things from the public.
Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida – who is presiding over the case stemming from a Miami grand jury’s June indictment of Trump – denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for sealed filings, striking two from the record. Cannon also requested additional information from prosecutors regarding the continued use of an out-of-state grand jury to investigate the case, writes Fox News.
“The Special Counsel states in conclusory terms that the supplement should be sealed from public view ‘to comport with grand jury secrecy,’ but the motion for leave and the supplement plainly fail to satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement,” Cannon wrote in the brief, denying the DOJ’s request.
“Among other topics as raised in the Motion, the response shall address 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,” she continued in the brief.
The filing Monday came in response to the special counsel’s request for a hearing to examine the defense attorney Stanley Woodward’s potential conflicts of interest. Woodward – who represents Waltine Nauta, a Trump aide listed as a co-defendant in the case – also represents three individuals who may be called to testify in the case.
The judge also smacked the DOJ for using a grand jury in Washington, D.C., to continue its investigation related to a trial in Florida.
“The Justice Department “shall address 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,” she wrote.
The order comes as special counsel Jack Smith has requested a conference with former President Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta, warning that his attorney in the matter, Stanley Woodward, may not be able to provide sufficient representation. Trump noted that Woodward is representing other witnesses in the case, noted The Hill.“
Aside from defense raising grand jury abuse in investigation, Cannon also notes that Smith is still using a DC grand jury in this case.
DOJ: "The grand jury in this district and a grand jury in the District of Columbia continued to investigate further obstructive activity." https://t.co/9Z82l57I8K
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) August 7, 2023
Last week it was revealed that the prosecution team under Smith’s leadership has a massive conflict of interest because liberals cannot help themselves in tilting the scales of justice against Donald Trump, especially when doing so may simultaneously help Trump win the GOP primary and give Joe Biden a leg up in the general election.
The Washington Examiner reported, “An ex-top New York City prosecutor working with Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on investigations related to former President Donald Trump has given large donations to campaigns for top Democrats, including President Joe Biden, records show.
David Rody is one of several veteran attorneys helping to advise Smith, who has overseen two indictments against Trump related to the former president’s alleged efforts to challenge the 2020 election and his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021, as well as his mishandling of classified documents. Rody, who in 2022 left his role as a partner at the major law firm Sidley Austin to join the DOJ as a senior counsel in the criminal division, gave $5,600 to Biden’s 2020 campaign and almost $7,000 to other Democratic causes from 2018 to 2022, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Cannon gave the lawyers for Nauta until August 17 to file a response to the motion for a hearing. She gave Smith and his team until August 22 to file a brief supporting the hearing.
Trump was indicted earlier in the year for keeping classified documents at his home at Mar-a-Lago. As part of the evidence against the former president, Jack Smith released audio of the Donald Trump talking about classified documents related to war with Iran with another guest at his resort home.
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