Judge denies efforts by Trump co-defendants to see classified material they allegedly helped conceal at Mar-a-Lago
Source: CNN Politics
Published 10:52 PM EST, Tue February 27, 2024
CNN — The judge presiding over the Mar-a-Lago documents case on Tuesday denied efforts by Donald Trump’s co-defendants to view the classified records they allegedly moved around the former president’s Florida residence for him.
The men, political aide Walt Nauta and property staffer Carlos De Oliveira, wanted to view the classified records to prepare their trial defenses against obstruction of justice charges. They are accused of helping Trump conceal documents he unlawfully kept in Florida after he left the presidency.
The decision from Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday night resolves a protracted battle that stood to hamper movement toward a trial, days before the judge revisits her calendar to see if Trump and the two men can be tried before summer. After several confidential hearings in her courthouse in recent weeks, including one that Trump attended, Cannon ruled in favor of the special counsel’s office, which argued De Oliveira and Nauta didn’t need to see the records that were in the boxes at Mar-a-Lago.
“The Court finds that the Special Counsel has met his burden to withhold from Defendants Nauta and De Oliveira personally all classified discovery produced to date,” Cannon wrote in her ruling Tuesday, noting one exception related to a particular document connected to one of the charges against Nauta.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/27/politics/mar-a-lago-trump-codefendants-classified-records/index.html
