Judge in Donald Trump secret documents case agrees to redact witness names

A U.S. federal judge decided on Tuesday to allow the special prosecutor prosecuting former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents to temporarily withhold the identities of possible witnesses in the case.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to reconsider an earlier ruling that prosecutors argued would reveal the names of some witnesses who spoke to investigators and expose them to Trump and his supporters Intimidation and harassment.

Lawyers for Trump, the Republican challenger to Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, attached information about witnesses to a legal filing in January seeking information they said could help Trump’s defense. information.

Cannon, Trump’s nominee to the bench, initially agreed to release the information, citing the need for public access to court records.

Jake Smith, the prosecutor’s special counsel who brought the case, urged Cannon to reevaluate her ruling, arguing that it was legally flawed and would expose witnesses to unnecessary harassment and possible threats.

In a ruling updated Tuesday, Cannon agreed to amend information in public documents that would lead to the identification of witnesses.

The judge said witnesses will now be referred to by pseudonyms in court documents.

Trump has repeatedly attacked judges, prosecutors and some known witnesses in the four criminal cases against him.

In two of the cases — a federal case accusing Trump of trying to subvert the 2020 election and another New York state prosecutor accusing him of concealing hush-money payments to porn stars — judges issued gag orders restraining Trump. Pu’s remarks – out-of-court statement.

In the classified documents case, Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he illegally preserved highly sensitive records after leaving office in 2021 and prevented the government from retrieving the materials.

Trump has accused prosecutors of targeting him to try to damage his campaign.

A trial date for the case remains uncertain.