Re: Special counsel warns of 'significant and immediate' threat to Mar-a-Lago case witnesses

[Special Counsel Crapping Pants Now]

In article <t00vp3$25ucr$4...@news.freedyn.de> Trump Hating Shitbag
<jth...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Fucking crybaby sees his Trump case slipping away because of the
Biden pass.
>
> Smith is full of shit. Stick him with a pin and he'll pop. Uh,
bring an umbrella.

WASHINGTON — The special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump has asked
the judge in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case to reconsider
an order the government argues could identify more than two dozen
witnesses and threaten their safety and testimony.

Trump's lawyers have asked for unredacted documents to be turned
over, which lawyers for special counsel Jack Smith want to block.

In a 24-page filing in federal court in Florida, prosecutors for
Smith said the court applied the wrong legal standard when U.S.
District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, ordered
the unsealing of materials. Cannon issued an order in response on
Friday that delayed her initial decision.

The filing notes an exhibit that includes “information about
uncharged potentially obstructive conduct by a defendant, and
speculation about witness tampering by an uncharged individual.”
According to the prosecutors, this witness declined to have his
interview recorded.

Trump was charged last year along with Walt Nauta, a personal aide
to the former president, and Carlos De Oliveira, who worked at Mar-
a-Lago. All three pleaded not guilty.

Smith argued that making the filings public would disclose the
identities of witnesses prepared to testify against Trump, including
career civil servants and former Trump advisers, and what they said
to federal investigators and the grand jury.

The decision risks exposing them to “significant and immediate”
intimidation after the government fought to keep their information
private, according to the filing.

“Revelation of these witnesses’ identities, or the substance of
their interviews with the FBI, dangerously risks exposing them,”
said the special counsel, pointing to a “well-documented pattern” of
“threats, harassment, and intimidation” against those involved in
cases against Trump.

Cannon “has suffered similar death threats,” prosecutors for Smith
write.

Other exhibits disclose details about the August 8 search of Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago club where classified documents were seized, including
the names of the FBI agents involved, two Justice Department
attorneys who were present, and non-public details of the property’s
layout. Trump has lashed out at “the Gestapo” agents who conducted
the “raid,” and at the time of the search, suggested the government
might seek to “plant” implicating documents.

Another exhibit discusses how two potential witnesses went about
finding lawyers after Smith raised earlier questions over potential
conflicts of interest for lawyers paid by Trump. After switching
lawyers last year, one witness recanted previous false testimony and
shared new information with the special counsel’s team, which led to
the superseding indictment.

The filing also reveals how Trump's team is seeking to turn over an
FBI report of an interview with a former Trump White House official
who revealed privileged information about the classification
process. Trump maintains that he declassified the sensitive
government records that federal investigators seized from his
residence after he left office.

The special counsel has sought to block Trump’s legal team from
viewing certain information and has gone back and forth with the
defense over how much information should be redacted or withheld in
full.

One potential witness is already facing threats, with Smith’s team
this week revealing in a separate filing that the U.S. attorney’s
office had opened an investigation.

The case is set to go to trial in May but risks being delayed.
Lawyers for Trump are seeking to dismiss the charges with a series
of motions expected later this month and extend certain deadlines in
the case. A scheduling conference is set for March 1.

Trump faces criminal charges of willfully retaining classified
documents, including national defense information, making false
statements and representations, conspiracy to obstruct justice,
withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document,
concealing a document in a federal investigation, and a scheme to
conceal.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/special-counsel-
warns-significant-immediate-threat-mar-lago-witnesses-rcna138140