A federal judge granted a protective order to the DOJ. It ensures the confidentiality of the evidence provided to Trump’s case.
Judge Bruce Reinhart granted a protective order on discovery requested by the Justice Department on Monday. Reinhart was the judge who approved the warrant to search Mar-a-Lago.
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The order stipulates that defense counsel must have custody and control of the discovery materials.
“Defense counsel shall store the Discovery Materials securely with labels that make it clear that the materials are subject to the Order. Electronic materials or copies of the Discovery Materials shall be stored in the same manner.,” the order said.
Trump must only have access to documents from discovery under the “direct supervision of defense counsel or a member of the defense counsel’s staff,” according to the clause.
He is permitted to make notes on the documents used in discovery, but afterward, counsel must securely store those notes.
“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,” the judge concurred with the government.
Reinhart wrote that defendants, defense attorneys, and authorized individuals who know they have broken the order could be held in contempt of court or face other civil or criminal penalties.
“Within 90 days of the conclusion of all stages of this case, including all related appeals, all Discovery Materials and all copies thereof shall be destroyed by Defense Counsel or returned to the United States, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. The Court may require a certification as to the disposition of any such materials,” the protective order said.
Other than those who are employed to assist in the defense, those who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other “Authorized Persons” to whom the Court may authorize disclosure, defendants and defense counsel are also prohibited from disclosing discovery materials or their contents.
A copy of the protective order must be given to the authorized person by defense, and that person must sign an agreement not to share the information.
“The materials also include information pertaining to ongoing investigations, the disclosure of which could compromise those investigations and identify uncharged individuals,” Special Counsel Jack Smith noted in his request for a protective order on Friday.
“As a result, the government proposes protections against the dissemination of discovery materials and the sensitive information that they contain,” the request added.
“Who have no objections to this motion or the protective order,” the DOJ stated in its motion, claiming that federal prosecutors conferred with Trump and Nauta.
“All non-classified discovery produced by the United States to the Defendants in preparation for, or in connection with, any stage of this case” and “may be used by the Defendants and Defense Counsel… solely in connection with the defense of this case, and for no other purpose, and in connection with no other proceeding, without further order of this Court” are the terms by which the order defines the materials of discovery.
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A grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted Trump and Waltine Nauta on 38 counts on June 8, 2023.
Nauta and Trump are accused of conspiring to obstruct justice, obstructing justice, concealing a document in a federal investigation concerning a “false statements concealment scheme,” and making false statements. Nauta is also accused of unlawfully retaining information about the national defense.
