Judge Cannon Denies Special Counsel Motions to Seal Evidence, Asks Smith to Justify Out of District Grand Jury

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon denied a DOJ request to keep evidence sealed in the Mar-a-Lago documents case against President Donald J Trump.  Additionally, Cannon has demanded that Special Counsel Jack Smith explain why he is using an out of district grand jury to construct additional charges against the defendant.  [2-page ruling pdf here]

Cannon has presided over the document issues even before the indictment against Donald Trump was unsealed.  As a result, she has a good frame of reference for the Lawfare tactics the Special Counsel is attempting to deploy.

Apparently, the DOJ doesn’t want defendant Waltine Nauta to have the same attorney as someone who might also be a co-defendant or witness in the case.  A “Garcia Hearing refers to hearing held under criminal procedure to ensure that a defendant who is one of two or more defendants represented by the same attorney realizes the following:

1.that there is a risk of conflict of interest inherent in the joint representation;  2.that s/he is entitled to the services of an attorney who does not represent anyone else in the defendant’s case.”

Judge Cannon denied the DOJ request to keep filings sealed in the case and she removed sealed filings from the record.  Cannon also asked for prosecutors to provide additional explanations about their continued use of a DC jury in the case, which is situated in Florida.