OAN’s Brooke Mallory
1:29 PM – Monday, June 19, 2023
Former President Donald Trump has been barred from exposing evidence and sensitive material addressed in his classified documents lawsuit by a federal judge.
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U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August, sided with the Justice Department on Monday after special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors filed a motion to keep the case’s evidence secure during the discovery process.
The judge demanded both Trump and co-defendant Walt Nauta to not “disclose the discovery materials or their contents directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense, persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other persons to whom the Court may authorize disclosure.”
“Defendants shall only have access to discovery materials under the direct supervision of Defense Counsel or a member of Defense Counsel’s staff. Defendants shall not retain copies of discovery material,” he added.
The judge then cautioned Trump and his team that any violations of the protective order “may result in contempt of court or other civil or criminal sanctions.”
Jack Smith filed the protection order request on Friday, telling the court that the evidence needed to be kept private for the time being. He argued that the ongoing investigation into the papers might lead to further arrests.
“The materials also include information pertaining to ongoing investigations, the disclosure of which could compromise those investigations and identify uncharged individuals,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
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