NEWSWEEK
Special Counsel Jack Smith has objected to the release of six documents to Donald Trump‘s legal team in the former president’s federal classified materials case. Trump’s team had specifically requested access to three of these documents in a previous court filing.
Trump has pled not guilty to 40 federal charges related to claims he unlawfully retained classified documents after leaving the White House in January 2021 and then obstructed efforts to return these papers to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. In August 2022, FBI agents raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private members club from which they recovered several classified documents.
On January 16, Trump’s legal team filed a motion disputing prosecutors claims that the papers the former president held were not properly secured, and demanding access to a range of documents, including communications between the prosecuting team and some of President Biden’s close associates.
Smith said he had no objection to the release of many of the documents, though he said some would have to be redacted first. However, he said, six needed to “remain sealed in full.”
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s campaign spokespeople and his attorney in the case via email for comment.
The papers Smith wants to keep sealed are listed as exhibits 2, 51, 61, 67, 68, and 69, the first three of which Trump’s team requested access to.
Smith agreed another 22 exhibits can be released to Trump’s team once certain “noted redactions” are made, and said 16 would be sent over immediately.
It is unclear what materials Trump’s team was requesting as details about exhibits 2, 51 and 61 are all redacted in the publicly available version of the court filing.
Smith’s team said they opposed Trump’s filing—called a motion for temporary leave to file redacted brief—”to the limited extent that the motions to compel or their exhibits identify any prospective Government witness, constitute Jencks Act material for the same, or contain certain additional discrete sensitive information.”
