Prosecutor Jack Smith has handed over nearly 700,000 records to Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the classified documents case, court records show.
In their latest filing, Trump's team said that Smith has produced more than 682,000 records—excluding CCTV video of Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate. They are now seeking "countless" more records from Smith's office.
The 682,000 records includes more than 130,000 additional records since Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial date on July 21, 2023.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, is overseeing the case in which the former president is accused of illegally retaining classified documents, hoarding them at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing attempts by federal officials to retrieve them. The former president has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He has denied any wrongdoing in the case and claimed that the documents he retained were personal.
Walt Nauta, Trump's former personal assistant, and Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker, are accused of moving boxes of sensitive materials around Trump's Florida home to prevent federal agents from finding them, as well as conspiring to delete security footage that had been sought under a subpoena.
Newsweek sought comment from Trump's attorney on Monday.
Smith has complained several times to Cannon that Trump is using the request for documents to delay the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.
If elected president, Trump may be able to pardon himself or appoint a favorable attorney general who would drop the charges.
Under federal rules, Judge Cannon designated the case as "complex," which allows her to extend the date until trial. She issued the designation because of the difficulties in dealing with a large volume of highly sensitive classified documents in the case. The trial has been pushed from May until July or August as a result.
In their filing, the Trump team agreed that the complex designation should remain in place and signal that they will be looking for yet more records in the case.
"The voluminous discovery in this case renders it, "so complex" such that it is, "unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits established," they wrote.
"Defendants have sought countless additional records from the Special Counsel's Office and have requested evidentiary and non-evidentiary hearings that may well result in the production of additional voluminous, and potentially classified, discovery."
That will include more legal arguments to obtain CCTV footage that lies at the center of the case.
Prosecutors say CCTV footage shows De Oliveira and Nauta hiding presidential records in Mar-a-Lago after federal authorities had sought their return.
"By way of just one example, counsel for Mr. De Oliveira requested additional CCTV video from the Special Counsel's Office, which still has not been resolved."
"In addition to the pretrial motions filed on the public docket, President Trump and Defendant Waltine Nauta filed several motions under seal and via email to the Court," the Trump lawyers added.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more
