US v Trump: Day 3 of Trump classified documents hearings comes to a close
Former President Trump’s legal team was back in court for a hearing Tuesday in the classified document case against the former president, arguing that the FBI's raid at Mar-a-Lago in 2022 was illegal.
Coverage for this event has ended.
UPDATE: This afternoon's hearing has ended with no decision made in the case.
Judge Cannon again reportedly continued to appear skeptical toward both prosecution and the defense arguments.
Lawyers for former President Trump argued that the search of his Mar-a-Lago property in August 2022 was without probable cause and a violation of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's constitutional rights.
Trump attorneys and federal prosecutors appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Tuesday before Judge Aileen Cannon.
Trump attorney Emil Bove argued that the search was impermissably large, arguing that the Mar-a-Lago property is 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, and that the federal government needed to establish probable cause for a search of the property in its entirety.
Cannon expressed skepticism, asking Bove: "What's your point? It's a property."
Bove reportedly went on to explain areas the FBI agents took photos of--areas he said they were not supposed to search, like former First Lady Melania Trump's bedroom, the gym and Barron Trump's room.
Cannon pressed back, saying: "You can agree though, paperwork is a thing you could find anywhere."
Cannon was essentially suggesting that classified documents could have been found anywhere in the home.
Bove also argued that the government told the magistrate judge--who signed off on the warrant-- certain things but did not fully brief FBI agents on where to search during the raid.
Bove said FBI agents executing the search are in no position decide unilaterally where to search, and what were personal records of Trump and what was not.
Bove went on to say there were omissions in the information given to the magistrate judge, arguing that some FBI agents said the search was unnecessary and that Trump should've been given a heads up.
Bove said the agents were interested in "consent" from Trump.
Bove is still making arguments as of now.
Fox News' Jake Gibson and Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.
Attorneys for former President Trump argued that the search of his Mar-a-Lago property in August 2022 was without probable cause and a violation of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's constitutional rights, while federal prosecutors blasted their defense as a "conspiracy theory."
The Trump legal team repeatedly asked Judge Cannon to schedule a "Franks hearing," which is a hearing to explore the admission of evidence obtained during a search warrant that was issued after a magistrate judge had been misled.
Cannon seemed skeptical but said she would take the motion under advisement.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges against Trump after his months-long classified records investigation, was present in court Tuesday.
Federal prosecutor David Harbach argued for the special counsel's team and told Cannon that, in this instance, the defense is required to make a "substantial showing" to prove false statements intentionally or a reckless disregard for the truth in the documentation given to the magistrate judge when obtaining the initial search warrant.
Harbach said the defense team did not meet their burden of proof for this motion and argued they should not be allowed to trigger an additional evidentiary hearing. They hoped to be able to bring in FBI agents to ask about their "mental state" on the day of the Mar-a-Lago raid.
With regard to Trump's argument that the search of Mar-a-Lago was over-broad, Harbach argued that the former president had access to his wife's quarters as well as his son's, and said the FBI's search of those rooms was "plainly within the scope of the warrant."
Meanwhile, Trump's lawyers raised issue with the fact that other documents were seized during the raid beyond classified records, including personal documents like medical and tax records. Cannon asked why a medical record "would need to be seized?" Harbach answered that was because the warrant "authorized the seizure of the box… the boxes contained all kinds of things."
Harbach also added that the medical records and the passport were returned to Trump. Trump’s team had also argued that the FBI had carried out the raid in an egregious fashion, but Harbach told Judge Cannon that was "false."
Harbach told Judge Cannon that FBI agents carry firearms as a matter of course and that’s just "part of protocol."
Trump attorney Emil Bove delivered a rebuttal, where he again urged Cannon to schedule a hearing to explore issues surrounding the Magistrate Judge’s issuing of the search warrant and the FBI’s execution of the search warrant.
Meanwhile, Harbach accused Trump defense attorneys of attempting to "hijack the hearing."
Cannon replied that there was no hijacking, that rather the hearing was coming to an end. Harbach then said he wanted to make a "factual point about the tactics of the defense," and accused them of repeated attempts to use this hearing to import other allegations.
There, Cannon cut him off and said she would take the motion under advisement.
Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Former President Donald Trump's defense attorneys are expected to urge U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to throw out evidence that was taken by the FBI during their search of Mar-a-Lago in 2022 and argue that it was done unlawfully.
Trump's team alleges that essential information was withheld from the judge who authorized the search warrant, which could bolster Trump's defense.
In the last fewhearings, Trump's legal team has filed motions seeking dismissal of the case, arguing that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawful.
Additionally, DOJ prosecutors requested a restricted gag order, citing Trump's statements he made in a fundraising email following the raid that said federal agents "were locked and loaded, ready to take me out" and endanger his family. Prosecutors argue his statements potentially endangered law enforcement and FBI witnesses.
As of now, Cannon has not made rulings on these issues during the court proceedings.
Fox News' Jeff Paul contributed to this report.
Judge Juan Merchan has partially lifted the gag order he imposed against former President Trump--weeks after the jury found him guilty on all counts.
Trump and his legal team have been fighting the gag order since it was imposed upon him at the start of the trial, but ramped up their efforts when it concluded last month.
Merchan, on Tuesday, partially lifted the gag order because the trial has concluded.
Trump is now able to speak about protected witnesses and jurors.
Trump still is blocked from commenting about individual prosecutors, court staff, and their family members. That portion of the gag order will remain in effect until Trump's sentencing on July 11.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky said Judge Aileen Cannon's court room is "the closest Donald Trump has gotten to due process" in his trials and legal challenges.
Cherkasky appeared on Fox News Channel's "Faulkner Focus" Tuesday and weighed in on Cannon and how she is presiding over the classified records case against the former president.
"Judge Cannon’s court room is the closest Donald Trump has gotten to due process in all of his various criminal trials and I think that the left is very upset with that idea," Cherkasky said. "Due process isn’t just the idea of it getting rushed to trial and getting a verdict—due process is the idea that a criminal defendant or any person in a courtroom has the ability to fully litigate all legal issues that are cognizable under the law."
Cherkasky said the case against Trump in Florida is "a novel case."
"There is no judge who has previously gone through something like this—certainly not in the federal court system," he said.
Cannon postponed the trial indefinitely, and scheduled a number of pre-trial hearings in the meantime.
"It is very reasonable for Judge Cannon to go through the process of hearing arguments, receiving filings on all of these issues and making decisions," he said.
"To her credit, she’s decided some things in his favor, she’s decided some things against him and that’s the way these processes should go," Cherkasky said.
He added: "The biggest injustice is for a trial to rush to a verdict and then later on ask important questions about the justice in the first place."
The third day of public hearings in former President Donald Trump's classified documents case is now underway. It pertains to Trump's "Motion for Relief relating to the Mar-a-Lago Raid and Unlawful Piercing of Attorney-Client Privilege."
Tuesday's hearing focuses on the legality of federal agents raiding Trump's Mar-a-Lago property. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon held a sealed hearing session at 11 a.m. Tuesday to shield classified grand jury materials.
On Monday, DOJ prosecutors argued for a limited gag order of the former president after he said in a fundraiser email the FBI was "locked and loaded, ready to take me out and put my family in danger."
Prosecutors say that statements made about the FBI Mar-a-Lago raid in August 2022 are significant and could pose a threat to the agents' lives.
Meanwhile, Trump's defense has argued the language in the former president's speech restrictions is vague, and insisted that Trump's statements were considered political speech aimed at Biden, not law enforcement.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn. on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Trump rallied supporters in Philadelphia this past weekend ahead of a key hearing in his classified documents case.
Addressing a crowd at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, a 10,000-seat venue, he tore into President Biden’s policies on crime with respect to the city and cast doubt on his political rival’s ability to debate him in their upcoming face-off this Thursday.
“Under crooked Joe, the city of brotherly love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime," Trump said. “Under the Trump administration, we're going to bring law and order and safety back to our streets…And we are going to liberate our once great cities and make Philadelphia better and more beautiful than ever before.”
He also said the president cannot “put two sentences together” and accused him of potentially using stimulants.
“He’s sleeping now, because they want to get him good and strong. So a little before debate time, he gets a shot in the a--,” Trump said.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith addresses reporters after his grand jury has issued more indictments of former President Donald Trump on August 01 in Washington, DC./Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The power to appoint a special counsel rests with the U.S. attorney general.
In adherence with the U.S. Code, the attorney general or acting attorney general will “appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted.”
Two other stipulations also exist: requiring the investigation therein would create a conflict of interest within the Justice Department, “or other extraordinary circumstances.”
Also, public interest is a stated consideration when an attorney general decides to appoint a special counsel.
The special counsel statute succeeds the independent counsel statute, which was in effect for the investigation of former President Bill Clinton by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr during the Whitewater-Lewinsky scandal.
After the law governing independent counsels expired in 1999, the position was replaced with the Office of Special Counsel.
While special counsels are appointed by the attorney general, independent counsels like Starr were named by a three-judge panel.
U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon is holding a hearing Tuesday morning related to charges against former President Trump and his alleged improper retention of classified records.
The hearing is related to Trump's "Motion for Relief relating to the Mar-a-Lago Raid and Unlawful Piercing of Attorney-Client Privilege."
The hearing is a sealed session in order to protect secret grand jury materials. It is also sealed to protect materials in which Trump asserts attorney-client privilege and/or work product protection.
The hearing will resume in public at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday.
Former President Donald Trump's defense team thinks the prosecution's request for a limited gag order in the classified documents case would be an "extraordainary move" given that the former president is scheduled to face off on the debate stage with President Joe Biden on Thursday, Fox News' Jeff Paul reported.
Prosecutors say that statements made about the FBI Mar-a-Lago raid in August 2022 are significant and could pose a threat to the agents' lives. On the day of the raid, Trump said in a fundraiser email that the FBI was "locked and loaded, ready to take me out and put my family in danger."
Meanwhile, Trump's defense has argued the language in the former president's speech restrictions is vague, and insisted that Trump's statements were considered political speech aimed at Biden, not law enforcement.
A written order is expected to be issued in the coming days from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. Tuesday's hearing will wrap up the three-day series of hearings and will focus on the actual search warrant inside Mar-a-Lago and its legality.
Former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case is expected to wrap up on Tuesday, although it still remains unclear how long it could ultimately last in court.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon considered a motion from Trump's defense team to dismiss the classified documents case entirely due to what they claimed is "unlawful funding" of the appointed special counsel.
Trump’s defense lawyer Emil Bove contended that the funds utilized by Special Counsel Jack Smith's team lack statutory authorization, presenting a separation of powers concern due to his purported ability to access an “unlimited budget” for prosecuting Trump.
Meanwhile, the prosecution Monday sought to impose speech restrictions on the former president following his remarks regarding the FBI's raid on his Mar-a-Lago home. Trump's description of the raid, including statements suggesting the FBI was "locked and loaded and ready to take me out," led Smith's counsel to allege it could put law enforcement in danger.
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