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By Andrew Stanton
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Judge Aileen Cannon delivered a victory to former President Donald Trump in his classified documents case on Tuesday.
Cannon is overseeing Trump's trial in the Department of Justice (DOJ)'s investigation into whether he mishandled classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Federal prosecutors accused Trump of removing the documents from the White House when he left office in January 2021, and the former president has pleaded not guilty to the 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information. Trump, who is running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, maintains his innocence, accusing prosecutors of targeting him for political purposes.
The trial is set to begin May 20, 2024. Trump's legal team and prosecutors have quarreled over the case discovery, with defense attorneys arguing that the trial should be delayed, in part due to issues with accessing classified documents ahead of the trial.
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Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the DOJ's case, has argued that some of the documents should be kept in a secure facility in Washington, D.C., rather than Florida, due to their sensitive nature. However, Cannon on Tuesday ruled that the documents should be stored in a facility in South Florida.
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"The parties are advised that production of classified discovery to defense counsel is deemed timely upon placement in an accredited facility in the Southern District of Florida, not in another federal district," Cannon's paperless order reads. "It is the responsibility of the Office of the Special Counsel to make and carry out arrangements to deposit such discovery to defense counsel in this District, in consultation with the Litigation Security Group for security purposes."
Cannon's decision means Trump and his team will not have to travel from Florida to Washington, D.C., to view the documents as they prepare for trial.
A spokesperson on Tuesday referred Newsweek to the DOJ's previous filing when reached for comment.
"In the meantime, the CISO informed the Government and the defense that the defense SCIF and a second Florida location had been approved for review and discussion for all classified discovery, resolving the outstanding access issues—another fact that the defense omitted from its pleading. The Government promptly arranged for delivery of the remaining materials to the SCIF for review upon counsel's arrival this week," the filing reads.
Newsweek also reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.
Cannon, who was appointed to her position by Trump, faced criticism for her decision. Some legal analysts have called for her removal on the case, pointing to decisions they view as too favorable to the former president.
"Shouldn't we just refer to her as Trump defense counsel Cannon?" political scientist Norman Ornstein posted to X, formerly Twitter.
"This is an absurd order. As I understand it, there are at least three classified documents that legally *can't* be removed from D.C. Also, Trump never actually requested these documents be locally reviewed. Cannon is just taking it upon herself to demand this for... some reason," wrote Matthew Chapman.
"Accredited facility is what you use for storage units — not classified documents — that sounds like a Trump vocab move to start changing the narrative," political consultant Julie Zebrak wrote.
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