Prosecution redux: No document talks at Mar-a-Lago
Prosecutors, meanwhile, filed another round of papers with the judge late Monday in the Mar-ALago documents case that again rejects Trump’s bid to discuss classified documents with his lawyers at the Mar-a-Lago estate.
The filing is part of a government attempt to install a protective order under the Classified Information Procedures act that would govern how sensitive papers in question would be
handled at trial.
The government insisted as it has previously that discussions “of classified information between Trump and his attorneys take place in a sensitive compartmented information facility (“SCIF”).”
“On the other hand,” prosecutors reiterated in their Monday filing, Trump “seeks special treatment that no other criminal defendant would receive and that is unsupported by law or precedent.”
In a filing last Wednesday, noted prosecutor Jay Bratt, Trump’s lawyers asked the court “to insert language in the protective order ‘to approve reestablishment of a secure facility’ at an unidentified location where Trump was permitted to review classified information during his presidency.”
“In making this request for the creation of a secure location for his personal use, Trump continues to seek special treatment that no other criminal defendant would receive,” Bratt said. “In essence, he is asking to be the only defendant ever
in a case involving classified information (at least to the Government’s knowledge) who would be able to discuss classified information in a private residence.
“And of course, The Mar-a-Lago Club is even less suited than most residences to host a secure location, because it is a social club,” Bratt added. “In addition to Trump’s residence and office, The Mar-a-Lago Club contains more than 25 guest rooms, two ballrooms, a spa, a gift store, exercise facilities, office space, and an outdoor pool and patio.”
“As of January 2021, The Mar-a-Lago Club had hundreds of members and was staffed by more than 150 full-time, part-time, and temporary employees,” the prosecutor added.
“The Mar-a-Lago Club hosted more than 50 social events, including weddings, movie premieres, and fundraisers that together drew tens of thousands of guests,” the filing says. “Trump also provides no specifics in either his response or the attached declaration about what steps (including cost or
time) would be required to create a secure space at his proposed location.”
There are other ways for the defense lawyers to discuss classified documents with their client, Bratt noted.
One of them: a court security officer “may authorize the defense to discuss classified information at an in camera hearing, for example.”
Or, Trump and the lawyers could discuss the papers at secured facilities in the Southern District of Florida that are approved by the security officer.
In the same filing, the government lawyers reiterated that Nauta should have limited access to classified materials. They want the judge to rule that only his lawyers can have wide access to the documents. If Nauta is to see any of the materials, prosecutors said, access should be provided on a case-by-case basis.