Jack Smith (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool), Donald Trump (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
The U.S. magistrate judge assisting U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in the Espionage Act federal prosecution of former President Donald Trump signed off on a protective order proposed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, meaning that any knowing impermissible disclosure of discovery by “Defendants, Defense Counsel, and Authorized Persons” could lead to contempt proceeding or sanctions — civil or criminal.
In a late Friday filing, the special counsel’s office proposed a broad protective order to shield sensitive information as prosecutors turn over information to the defense, as the former president stands accused of alleged violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, false statements and more. Judge Cannon had referred the protective order motion to U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart — the judge who signed off on the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago last August — for “appropriate disposition.”
The protective order, a standard part of criminal procedure and especially in national security cases, says that the discovery materials in the Mar-a-Lago case: Must not be used for any purpose other than the defense of the case; must be stored “securely with labels that make it clear that the materials are subject to the Order”; must not be disclosed “directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense, persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other persons to whom the Court may authorize disclosure (collectively, ‘Authorized Persons’)”; “shall not” be copied or reproduced by defendants et al. “except as necessary to prepare for the defense”; “shall not be disclosed to the public or the news media, or disseminated on any news or social media platform, without prior notice to and consent of the United States or approval of the Court”; and, finally, “all Discovery Materials and all copies thereof shall be destroyed by Defense Counsel or returned to the United States, unless otherwise ordered by the Court” within 90 days of the “end of all stages of this case, including all related appeals.”
The order, approved Monday by Reinhart, points out that any “knowing” violations of the protective order — for instance, late-night posts on Truth Social — “may result in contempt of court or other civil or criminal sanctions.”
“The restrictions set forth in this Order do not apply to documents that are or become part of the public court record, nor do the restrictions in this Order limit Defense Counsel in the use of the materials in judicial proceedings in this case, except as described above,” the order noted.
In the Friday motion submitted under Jack Smith’s name and signed last Friday by Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s chief for Counterintelligence and Export Control Section in the National Security Division, the government argued that the protective order was needed to protect ongoing probes and the identities of “uncharged individuals.”
“The materials also include information pertaining to ongoing investigations, the disclosure of which could compromise those investigations and identify uncharged individuals,” the motion said.
Read the government’s motion behind the proposed protective order here and the Monday order here.
Adam Klasfeld contributed to this report.
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