Global Courant
Special Counsel Jack Smith has turned over the first set of evidence in the case with classified documents to former President Donald Trump’s legal team, according to a lawsuit Wednesday.
Prosecutors said in the filing that the documents include evidence obtained through subpoenas and search warrants; transcripts of grand jury testimony in Washington, DC and Florida; witness hearings up to and including last month; and fragments of closed circuit television images.
The first production of unclassified discovery includes “the grand jury testimony of witnesses who will testify for the government in this case,” the filing said.
Prosecutors also said Trump’s team may contact the administration to arrange inspection of any unclassified items seized on Aug. 8, 2022, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, in a court order unsealed Tuesday morning, set a tentative mid-August start date for Trump’s trial in the case.
The trial will begin Aug. 14 and last two weeks at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, the order said. However, Trump’s legal team could postpone the start date by filing motions, and the complexity of the Classified Information Procedures Act process could also lead to a postponement.
A federal grand jury this month indicted Trump on charges that he had misled federal investigators in his attempt to apprehend a trove of sensitive material he knew was still classified.
Trump faces 37 felonies, including making false statements, conspiracy to obstruct justice and willfully withholding national defense information, stemming from more than 100 classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago last year estate in Florida, the indictment said. He pleaded not guilty and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Trump and his Republican allies filed his landmark indictment as an attempt by the Biden administration to undermine his re-election bid.
Trump’s personal assistant Walt Nauta was also charged on six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Nauta did not enter a plea this month and his attorney, Stan Woodward, declined to comment on his allegations.
In Wednesday’s filing, prosecutors indicated that Nauta has not yet received a discovery, but that they will provide it to his counsel once his appearance in the case is entered. Nauta’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
