A government list of dozens of witnesses who may testify against Donald Trump at a criminal trial over his handling of classified documents should be made public instead of being filed under seal by prosecutors, a coalition of media organizations told a judge.
Many of the 84 witnesses have been described as long-time Trump acquaintances and employees, and disclosing their names in a court filing will be the first time Trump is made aware of the people he is “forbidden, on pain of contempt,” from speaking to about the case, according to the press group.
The government “makes no case whatsoever for the extraordinary step of sealing this witness list,” the group said Monday in the filing in federal court in Florida.
Special Counsel Jack Smith asked to file the list under seal after the court ordered Trump to refrain from speaking directly to potential witnesses about the case in which he’s charged with mishandling classified government documents after leaving office. The coalition argued that public should know who the witnesses are given what’s at stake for the Trump.
“The filing of the list of potential witnesses in this case is a highly significant initial step in this extraordinary prosecution,” the coalition’s lawyers sad in the filing. “If the public right to oversee judicial proceedings is to mean anything, it mandates that the public have full access to the judicial records of these proceedings, starting with this Court ordered witness list.”
The group asked the court for permission to intervene in the case for the purpose of arguing for greater public access during the prosecution.
The case is US v. Trump, 23-cr-80101, US District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami).
