Judge Cannon also ruled that significant parts of the substantive witness statements to investigators may still be made public.
The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump has ordered that the names of potential witnesses remain secret, marking a victory for special counsel Jack Smith.
In a 24-page ruling on Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon said potential government witnesses’ names will be redacted in the case involving President Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021, in line with Mr. Smith’s request, which had cited safety concerns.
However, he will still need to justify the redactions of every witness’s identity, the judge ruled.
“This evaluation contemplates the balancing of several relevant factors, including the safety of witnesses and third parties; a particular danger of perjury or witness intimidation; the protection of information vital to the national security; and the protection of business enterprises from economic reprisals,” the judge wrote.
Judge Cannon also ruled that significant parts of the substantive witness statements to investigators may still be made public, as they do not identify the witnesses or other third parties mentioned.
In her ruling, the judge—who was nominated to the bench by President Trump—took aim at Mr. Smith’s “wholesale request” for complete anonymity of the witnesses via full redactions, noting that redacting identifiable information would sufficiently address safety concerns.
“Confident that such redactions will address the witness-safety concerns at the center of the Special Counsel’s seal request, the Court exercises its discretion to decline the Special Counsel’s wholesale request to seal non-identifying substantive witness statements, for which no particularized factual or legal support has been presented,” she wrote.
Trump Lawyers Call for Release of Witness Names
Judge Cannon also criticized the special counsel’s office for failing to raise all of their concerns regarding the possible release of the names of witnesses during the first round of legal arguments in the case against President Trump.
“Although the record is clear that the Special Counsel could have, and should have, raised its current arguments previously, the Court elects, upon a full review of those newly raised arguments, to reconsider its prior Order,” Judge Cannon said.
