Judge in Trump classified docs case grants Jack Smith request to redact witness names

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon connected Tuesday relented to special counsel Jack Smith successful a long-running conflict complete nan names of authorities witnesses successful nan classified documents lawsuit against erstwhile President Trump, agreeing to shield their identities from nan nationalist eye. 

Cannon only partially granted prosecutors’ petition successful agreeing to support nan names of FBI agents, Secret Service agents and different imaginable witnesses successful nan lawsuit nether seal. In a 24-page order, nan judge refused to categorically artifact witnesser statements from being disclosed, saying location was nary ground for specified a "sweeping" and "blanket" regularisation connected their inclusion successful pretrial motions. 

Cannon rejected a petition by Smith's squad to seal from pretrial motions nan constituent of each witnesser statements, isolated from for accusation that could beryllium utilized to place witnesses.

"As for ineligible authority, nan cases cited successful nan Special Counsel’s papers do not lend support to this sweeping request; nor do they look to person been offered arsenic such," Cannon wrote. "And based connected nan Court’s independent research, granting this petition would beryllium unprecedented: nan Court cannot find immoderate lawsuit — high-profile aliases different — successful which a tribunal has authorized thing remotely akin to nan sweeping alleviation sought here."

FEDERAL JUDGE DENIES TRUMP MOTION TO DISMISS CLASSIFIED RECORDS CASE BASED ON PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT

This image, contained successful nan indictment against erstwhile President Trump, shows boxes of records stored successful a bath and ablution successful nan Lake Room astatine Trump's Mar-a-Lago property successful Palm Beach, Florida. (Justice Department via AP)

The disagreement betwixt Smith’s squad and lawyers for Trump, which had been pending for weeks, was 1 of galore that had piled up earlier Cannon and had slowed nan gait of nan lawsuit against Trump. Tuesday’s bid was nan 2nd clip this period that Cannon was captious of Justice Department prosecutors, yet nan judge still ruled mostly successful their favor, The Washington Post reported.

The lawsuit remains without a patient proceedings date, though some sides person said they could beryllium fresh this summer. 

Cannon, who earlier decided to assistance Trump’s petition for an independent arbiter to reappraisal documents obtained during an FBI hunt of Mar-a-Lago, made clear her continued skepticism of nan DOJ mentation of prosecution, saying Tuesday that nan lawsuit raised "still-developing and somewhat muddled questions."

In reconsidering an earlier bid and siding pinch prosecutors connected nan protection of witnesser identities, Cannon apt averted a melodramatic exacerbation of tensions pinch Smith's team, which past week called a abstracted bid from nan judge "fundamentally flawed," according to The Associated Press. 

A national judge successful erstwhile President Trump's classified documents lawsuit granted typical counsel Jack Smith's petition to redact witnesses' names. (Getty Images)

TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON 'UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS'

The rumor surfaced successful January erstwhile defense lawyers revenge successful partially redacted shape a mobility that sought to require prosecutors to move complete a trove of documents that they said would bolster their declare that nan Biden management had sought to "weaponize" nan government successful charging Trump.

Defense lawyers asked support to record nan motion, which included arsenic attachments accusation that they had obtained from prosecutors, successful mostly unredacted form. However, prosecutors objected to unsealing nan mobility to nan grade that it would uncover nan personality of immoderate imaginable authorities witness.

Aileen Cannon, nan Florida judge overseeing erstwhile President Trump's classified documents case, pictured successful a virtual interview.  (REUTERS)

Cannon past granted nan defense's petition for nan mobility and its exhibits to beryllium revenge successful unredacted shape arsenic agelong arsenic nan individual identifying accusation of witnesses remained sealed. Smith's squad asked her to reconsider, saying that witnesses could beryllium exposed to threats and harassments if publically identified.

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In agreeing connected Tuesday for nan witnesser names to stay redacted, she wrote, "Although nan grounds is clear that nan Special Counsel could have, and should have, raised its existent arguments previously, nan Court elects, upon a afloat reappraisal of those recently raised arguments, to reconsider its anterior Order."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.