The prosecutor investigating the mishandling of confidential documents by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) after leaving the White House has until this Saturday to deliver documentation to the Republican’s defense that would reveal the identity of witnesses in the case.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith has asked federal Judge Aileen Cannon, in charge of this criminal case against Trump in South Florida, to reconsider this Friday’s ruling that would allow Trump’s defense to publicly reveal the identities of witnesses and their testimonies before the court.
Smith argues that revealing the names could expose these witnesses to “significant and immediate risks of threats, intimidation and harassment,” and that there are insufficient reasons to make their identities public.
Prosecutors in charge of the investigation have asked Cannon to protect the identities of several witnesses involved, considering that there are “intolerable and unnecessary risks” if their names were revealed before the trial.
Previously, the judge, who plans to hold the trial starting on May 20, had allowed this information to not be available to the defense or the public.
Cannon was nominated in 2020 by former President Trump, who is expected to be the Republican candidate for the presidential election next November.
In addition to the case in Florida, Trump faces three other criminal accusations, two of them related to the “big lie” he promoted of alleged electoral fraud in the 2020 elections in which he lost to President Biden.
The Republican is accused of trying to manipulate the election results in Georgia and also intervening to reverse the election results in a case related to the assault on the Capitol.
He is also accused in New York of illegal payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels during her presidential campaign.
The trial in Florida, expected to last two weeks, will take place in federal court in Fort Pierce, north of Miami. EFE
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