Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives onstage to talk on the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference on the Washington Hilton on June 24, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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A gaggle of stories organizations asked a federal court Monday to disclose the special counsel’s list of 84 witnesses who’re prohibited from speaking with former President Donald Trump in regards to the facts of his criminal classified documents case.
“Full transparency — at every step of this historic case — is important,” attorneys for the press coalition wrote in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Without it, public confidence within the integrity of those proceedings specifically and the judicial system at large will suffer, perhaps irreversibly,” read the court filing from the coalition, which incorporates NBCUniversal Media, CNN and The Recent York Times.
The request got here three days after special counsel Jack Smith, who led the probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, moved to file the witness list under seal with the court. That very same day, Smith also asked the court to ward off Trump’s trial date to mid-December, arguing partially that more time was needed to let defense lawyers obtain security clearances and review evidence. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, had initially scheduled the trial to start in mid-August.
Trump, the first-ever former president to face federal charges, pleaded not guilty this month to 37 counts including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice. His aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, pleaded not guilty to 6 charges at the identical arraignment hearing.
As a condition of their release, a magistrate judge barred Trump and Nauta from speaking with certain witnesses in regards to the facts of the case except through their lawyers.
Smith noted in a court filing Friday that the Department of Justice has shared an inventory of those witnesses with the lawyers for Trump and Nauta. A footnote in that filing suggested that there are 84 names on the list.
The defendants’ lawyers took no position on the federal government’s decision to file the witness list under seal, but “the defense reserves the fitting to object to the special condition and the style during which it was implemented,” the court filing noted.
Of their bid to unseal that list, the coalition of about three dozen press outlets argued that the DOJ cites “no grounds to warrant the extraordinary treatment of a secret court filing.”
The coalition pointed to the First Amendment, common law and the principles of an open judicial system of their appeal to see the witness list. “The American public’s interest on this matter, and want to watch its progress every step of the way in which, can’t be overstated,” they argued.
“The filing of the list of potential witnesses on this case is a highly significant initial step on this extraordinary prosecution,” they wrote. “It can mark the primary time that the Court has instructed the Government to tell Trump of the identities of individuals who may offer testimony that prosecutors imagine will incriminate him.”
Trump’s counsel has indicated that the list includes the ex-president’s longtime acquaintances and staffers, the news outlets noted.
The court-ordered witness list “reflects a turning point from the secrecy of the Grand Jury investigation to the general public administration of justice involving the best level of power in American Government,” the group wrote.
It will not be unusual for news organizations to intervene in lawsuits to argue for more transparency and knowledge. In one other high-profile pending criminal case, a press coalition successfully pushed for the general public release of the identities of the individuals who guaranteed a $500,000 bond for embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. Those bail backers, whose names had been hidden, were revealed Thursday to be Santos’ father and aunt.
Despite being criminally charged in two separate cases while on the campaign trail, Trump is currently the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
An NBC News poll released Sunday found that Trump’s lead has grown amongst Republican primary voters since his latest indictment. He has vowed to remain within the race even when he’s convicted.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC and NBC News.
