FBI search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago (Update: Trump Indicted!)

[emailking]

Trump aide Walt Nauta pleads not guilty to charges of mishandling classified documents

Walt Nauta, an aide to former President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple counts related to the mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, including several obstruction and concealment-related charges.

The brief procedural hearing moves Nauta and Trump toward trial together in the historic case alleging mishandling of national security records and obstruction of justice. Trump is accused of illegally keeping classified documents from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago resort and Nauta is accused of helping him to hide those documents from the federal government.

The hearing marks a rare moment with the court’s focus on Nauta, a 40-year-old Navy veteran who grew up in Guam, and highlights how the lesser-known defendant has already managed to slow down the trial calendar, a common practice of Trump’s in court.

Nauta has added a Florida lawyer to his defense team, Sasha Dadan, a former public defender who has experience trying cases in south Florida, according to a source familiar with the situation.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/06/politics/walt-nauta-arraignment-florida-trump/index.html

[emailking]

Prosecutors in Trump classified documents case are facing threats
FBI says it is working with partner agencies to assess and respond to threats as classified-documents prosecution moves forward

Individual prosecutors involved in the classified documents case against former president Donald Trump are facing substantial harassment and threats online and elsewhere, according to extremism experts and a government official familiar with the matter.

At the same time, two officials said, federal agencies have not observed a general increase in threats against law enforcement in the weeks since Trump was indicted in South Florida — a sharp contrast from the surge of violent rhetoric in the days after FBI agents searched the former president’s Florida property last August.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues. The FBI has called threats against law enforcement “reprehensible and dangerous,” and says it is working closely with other law enforcement agencies “to assess and respond to such threats.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/06/trump-documents-case-prosecutor-threats/

[emailking]

Smith and the defense lawyers have agreed to postpone Friday's hearing until Tuesday when both of Nauta's lawyers will be able to attend.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Smith and the defense lawyers have agreed to postpone Friday's hearing until Tuesday when both of Nauta's lawyers will be able to attend.

This is a test, both of Loose Cannon's willingness to aid and abet Trump's crimes, and if our justice system is capable of dealing with threats like Donald Trump, or if it is merely a sick joke. (And it's not looking good for justice.)

https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/07/10/stanley-woodward-tests-judge-aileen-cannons-patience/

And before I present Woodward’s seven (!!!) excuses for not being able to make Friday’s hearing, consider that according to the government, Woodward hasn’t even submitted his SF-86 form required before he can get clearance.

With all that laid out, ready for Woodward’s seven complaints?

1) First, that DOJ charged his client in Trump country rather than in DC.

2) Then, that he opposed having a CIPA conference at all (a claim the government says is not true).

3) Then, that Nauta had delayed so long in hiring a Florida lawyer that poor Stan Woodward had no way to object on his own.

4) Then, that Woodward has a trial for Freddie Klein this week (the government says it — this prosecution team — did not know that — it seems that Woodward is relying on prosecutors on a 1,000 defendant crime scene investigation to track Woodward’s other clients).

5) Woodward then says that even though he’s not required to attend, Nauta should be able to demand that he attend.

6) Woodward doesn’t see the point of using CIPA in a case charging 31 of the most sensitive documents ever charged in an Espionage Act case.

7) Even though his brand spanking new co-counsel (who mostly does family law kinds of things but also dog bites) is obligated under local rules to hit the ground running, she’s not ready to hit the ground running.

    Nor is it feasible to expect Mr. Nauta’s local counsel to appear at a pretrial CIPA conference and to agree upon, “a discovery and motion schedule relating to any classified information,” barely a week after she has been retained by Mr. Nauta.

Tune in in January, when Presidential candidate Donald Trump says he needs to delay his trial because he has primaries to run in. It won’t be his fault that the lawyer his PAC is paying invented frivolous cause for day, after all.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Smith and the defense lawyers have agreed to postpone Friday's hearing until Tuesday when both of Nauta's lawyers will be able to attend.

This is a test, both of Loose Cannon's willingness to aid and abet Trump's crimes, and if our justice system is capable of dealing with threats like Donald Trump, or if it is merely a sick joke. (And it's not looking good for justice.)

https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/07/10/stanley-woodward-tests-judge-aileen-cannons-patience/

And before I present Woodward’s seven (!!!) excuses for not being able to make Friday’s hearing, consider that according to the government, Woodward hasn’t even submitted his SF-86 form required before he can get clearance.

With all that laid out, ready for Woodward’s seven complaints?

1) First, that DOJ charged his client in Trump country rather than in DC.

2) Then, that he opposed having a CIPA conference at all (a claim the government says is not true).

3) Then, that Nauta had delayed so long in hiring a Florida lawyer that poor Stan Woodward had no way to object on his own.

4) Then, that Woodward has a trial for Freddie Klein this week (the government says it — this prosecution team — did not know that — it seems that Woodward is relying on prosecutors on a 1,000 defendant crime scene investigation to track Woodward’s other clients).

5) Woodward then says that even though he’s not required to attend, Nauta should be able to demand that he attend.

6) Woodward doesn’t see the point of using CIPA in a case charging 31 of the most sensitive documents ever charged in an Espionage Act case.

7) Even though his brand spanking new co-counsel (who mostly does family law kinds of things but also dog bites) is obligated under local rules to hit the ground running, she’s not ready to hit the ground running.

    Nor is it feasible to expect Mr. Nauta’s local counsel to appear at a pretrial CIPA conference and to agree upon, “a discovery and motion schedule relating to any classified information,” barely a week after she has been retained by Mr. Nauta.

Tune in in January, when Presidential candidate Donald Trump says he needs to delay his trial because he has primaries to run in. It won’t be his fault that the lawyer his PAC is paying invented frivolous cause for day, after all.

Doesn’t seem like much of a test to me if the prosecution has agreed to a 2-day delay.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1678605727571607552

[Torie]

Trump doesn't want to trial prior to the election? Who knew?

It will be interesting how Jack Smith handles this one. Conducting an election with all of these trials in abeyance is bad, very bad.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1678735078136971265

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Smith and the defense lawyers have agreed to postpone Friday's hearing until Tuesday when both of Nauta's lawyers will be able to attend.

This is a test, both of Loose Cannon's willingness to aid and abet Trump's crimes, and if our justice system is capable of dealing with threats like Donald Trump, or if it is merely a sick joke. (And it's not looking good for justice.)

https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/07/10/stanley-woodward-tests-judge-aileen-cannons-patience/

And before I present Woodward’s seven (!!!) excuses for not being able to make Friday’s hearing, consider that according to the government, Woodward hasn’t even submitted his SF-86 form required before he can get clearance.

With all that laid out, ready for Woodward’s seven complaints?

1) First, that DOJ charged his client in Trump country rather than in DC.

2) Then, that he opposed having a CIPA conference at all (a claim the government says is not true).

3) Then, that Nauta had delayed so long in hiring a Florida lawyer that poor Stan Woodward had no way to object on his own.

4) Then, that Woodward has a trial for Freddie Klein this week (the government says it — this prosecution team — did not know that — it seems that Woodward is relying on prosecutors on a 1,000 defendant crime scene investigation to track Woodward’s other clients).

5) Woodward then says that even though he’s not required to attend, Nauta should be able to demand that he attend.

6) Woodward doesn’t see the point of using CIPA in a case charging 31 of the most sensitive documents ever charged in an Espionage Act case.

7) Even though his brand spanking new co-counsel (who mostly does family law kinds of things but also dog bites) is obligated under local rules to hit the ground running, she’s not ready to hit the ground running.

    Nor is it feasible to expect Mr. Nauta’s local counsel to appear at a pretrial CIPA conference and to agree upon, “a discovery and motion schedule relating to any classified information,” barely a week after she has been retained by Mr. Nauta.

Tune in in January, when Presidential candidate Donald Trump says he needs to delay his trial because he has primaries to run in. It won’t be his fault that the lawyer his PAC is paying invented frivolous cause for day, after all.

Doesn’t seem like much of a test to me if the prosecution has agreed to a 2-day delay.

How about now, when Trump has requested an indefinite delay?

This is exactly what I was expecting, though obviously much sooner than I expected it.

[emailking]

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1679589046924836866

[emailking]

Target letter to Trump Organization staffer signals new push in classified docs probe: Sources
Investigators are probing the employee's handling of surveillance footage.

The special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents has taken new steps to examine possible efforts to obstruct the probe, threatening potential charges against a Trump Organization employee who is suspected of lying to investigators, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Special counsel Jack Smith in recent weeks transmitted a target letter to the staffer indicating that he might have perjured himself during a May appearance before the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the classified documents probe, the sources told ABC News.

The target letter to the employee, which was described to ABC News by sources familiar with it but not obtained or reviewed by ABC News, signals Smith's growing interest in the Trump Organization's handling of the surveillance footage and potential efforts to avoid sharing it with investigators.

...

A target letter puts a subject of an investigation on notice that they are facing the prospect of an indictment. Smith's office similarly provided notice to Trump that he was a target in their investigation weeks before a grand jury in Florida returned the indictment against him.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/target-letter-trump-organization-staffer-signals-new-push/story?id=101234029

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1680599300487643140?s=20

[emailking]

His motion to dismiss has a better chance than that shot ever did.

[emailking]

Trump praises Judge Aileen Cannon in classified documents case: 'She's very smart and very strong'

Former President Donald Trump in an interview praised U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing a federal case related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House.

...

On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump whether he had any indication that Cannon will grant his motion − a move that federal prosecutors are pushing back on.

“I don’t know. I know it’s a very highly respected judge, a very smart judge and a very strong judge,” Trump said.

...

Trump said he is “very proud” to have appointed her in the interview.

“She’s very smart and very strong and loves our country,” Trump said. “We need judges that love our country so they do the right thing.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/17/trump-praises-judge-aileen-cannon-classified-docs/70419362007/

[emailking]

Jack Smith seeks classified protective order to 'avoid further delay'

The special counsel investigating Donald Trump's classified documents case is seeking a protective order ahead of a key hearing this week, saying it's necessary to "avoid further delay" by the former president's defense.

In their Monday filing, attorneys for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith included a proposed protective order for classified information ahead of a Tuesday Classified Information Procedures Act hearing to decide how sensitive materials involved in the legal proceeding can be protected.

The special counsel investigating Donald Trump's classified documents case is seeking a protective order ahead of a key hearing this week, saying it's necessary to "avoid further delay" by the former president's defense.

In their Monday filing, attorneys for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith included a proposed protective order for classified information ahead of a Tuesday Classified Information Procedures Act hearing to decide how sensitive materials involved in the legal proceeding can be protected.

...

"The defense may not disclose classified information to the Defendants unless that same information has been previously disclosed to the defense by the Defendants or provided by the government with markings indicating it may be disclosed to the Defendants," government attorneys wrote on page 6 of the proposal.

https://gazette.com/news/wex/donald-trump-arrested-jack-smith-seeks-classified-protective-order-to-avoid-further-delay/article_8a999f22-a632-564a-abc4-249e4aa62c2e.html


^ probable Trump delay tactic

[Progressive Pessimist]

I guess Trump doesn't have much confidence in getting acquitted if he doesn't want to chance that happening before the election and likely being a boon to his campaign.

[Redban]

Federal judge signals Trump’s classified docs trial may not start until next year

https://nypost.com/2023/07/18/judge-aileen-cannon-doesnt-set-immediate-date-for-trump-docs-trial/

I don't see why his candidacy should push the trial date back. He made the choice to run for President again (there was no obligation for him to so), and don't 2024 voters deserve to have this matter decided before they cast their vote?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Federal judge signals Trump’s classified docs trial may not start until next year

https://nypost.com/2023/07/18/judge-aileen-cannon-doesnt-set-immediate-date-for-trump-docs-trial/

I don't see why his candidacy should push the trial date back. He made the choice to run for President again (there was no obligation for him to so), and don't 2024 voters deserve to have this matter decided before they cast their vote?

As I read it, the judge was skeptical of both the DOJ's proposed trial date of this December (which would be extremely difficult to meet due to the classified discovery issues) and Trump's request to push it back until after the election.  I'm guessing she'll go somewhere in the middle and set a trial date of late Spring or early Summer next year.

[emailking]

She's saying that trials with class info usually don't start before 6 months. But in this case the government is already ready to go and has everything ready to provide and they likely planned it that way on purpose. (Compare with Teixeira's case where the government is not ready to provide everything yet.) So I don't think the December date is actually a problem. Granted it's up to her.

[GeorgiaModerate]

More on potential timing of the trial:

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1681436888207609856

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1682382223842983938

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1682382223842983938

Is Trump required to appear before court in person then?

[Jerseyan]

In theory, you'd think Trump would want his case sooner rather than later. May 2024 is smack dab in the middle of election season. Not even Trump wants that kind of attention.

[Sir Mohamed]

In theory, you'd think Trump would want his case sooner rather than later. May 2024 is smack dab in the middle of election season. Not even Trump wants that kind of attention.

I'd be more inclined to say he likes pretty much any attention. "Better bad press than no press". For sure he'll use it to frame the entire process as a politically motivated and rant about a witch hunt to rile up his supporters. Latter will like it because it fits into their victimhood cult, though by the 2nd half of May, the nomination will already be settled and the campaigns focus on winning over a GE electorate.

[Redban]

May 2024 .. so Bragg's trial might happen before

Trump might, sadly, have the GOP nomination locked up before these trials happen