On Monday, Judge Cannon rejected Jack Smith’s motion to maintain confidentiality for a list of potential witnesses in the classified documents case.
Smith must turn over his list of 84 witnesses to the media and the public.
The judge stated that Jack Smith had not provided sufficient justification for the need to keep the witnesses’ names undisclosed.
Smith also attempted to prevent Trump and his alleged co-conspirator, Walt Nauta, from contacting the 84 witnesses.
NBC News reported:
A federal judge on Monday rejected a request from special counsel Jack Smith to keep secret a list of 84 potential witnesses in the prosecution of former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.
Federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to keep under seal a list of witnesses who Trump would be barred from communicating with directly.
In her order, Cannon said prosecutors failed to explain why it was necessary to keep the names under wraps, or why redacting or partially sealing the document would be inadequate.
In early June, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed 37 federal charges against Trump in Miami.
The charges against Trump include 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, as well as 6 additional process crimes that relate to his discussions with his lawyer.
Walt Nauta, an aide at Mar-a-Lago, was also indicted as a co-conspirator alongside President Trump.
On Monday, Judge Cannon issued a separate order, scheduling a hearing for July 14 to address the handling of the classified documents.
