A federal judge in Florida on Monday ordered former President Donald Trump and his lawyers not to disclose evidence from the classified documents case without permission.
The ruling is a victory for special counsel Jack Smith, whose team requested an order to block Trump and his defense team from revealing to the public materials shared during the discovery process.
“The Discovery Materials, along with any information derived therefrom, shall not be disclosed to the public or the news media, or disseminated on any news or social media platform, without prior notice to and consent of the United States or approval of the Court,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in his order.
Reinhart also placed restrictions on the defendants’ access to discovery materials, determining they must be under the supervision of defense counsel or staff to the defense counsel and cannot retain copies. The judge also said any notes must be stored securely by the lawyers.
Trump appeared in a Miami federal courtroom last week and pleaded not guilty to 37 charges, including 31 alleged violations of the Espionage Act for “willful retention” of national defense information, as well as charges related to obstruction and making false statements. He has spoken out about the inquiry on social media and in public, claiming he is being subject to a “witch hunt” and calling Smith a “thug.”
Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, was also indicted in the documents case and is covered by Reinhart’s order. Nauta is expected to be arraigned on June 27.
Smith’s team filed a motion on Friday seeking a protective order for evidence, warning that the materials contain “sensitive and confidential information” as well as materials that could jeopardize ongoing investigations if disclosed. Prosecutors noted at the time that after consulting lawyers for Trump and Nauta, neither party objected to the request.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, has been appointed to preside over the documents case though some aspects of it are being handled by other judges. Trump’s arraignment was overseen by Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman. Cannon referred the motion on disclosing evidence to Reinhart, citing local rules, according to CNN. Reinhart is the judge who approved the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last year.
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Some legal experts have called on Cannon to recuse herself from the case altogether, pointing to past rulings tied to the documents matter, particularly one in favor of Trump’s request for a special master to weed out privileged materials the FBI seized from the Mar-a-Lago resort, which got overturned by a federal appeals court. Showing no signs of a departure, Cannon has ordered defense attorneys to start the process of getting security clearances.