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Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida invalidated two of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s sealed filings on Thursday.
Kyle Cheney, a senior legal correspondent for POLITICO, wrote via X (Twitter): “Judge CANNON comes out swinging at special counsel this morning, striking two of prosecutors’ sealed filings and demanding an explanation of ‘the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate’ the docs case.”
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, wrote that “The Special Counsel states in conclusory terms that the supplement should be sealed from public view ‘to comport with grand jury secrecy,’ but the motion for leave and the supplement plainly fail to satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement.”
She then denied the motion by the prosecution.
“Among other topics as raised in the Motion, the response shall address the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district,” she wrote, adding that the prosecution to respond to these and other items by August 22nd.
Conservative reporter Julie Kelly tweeted: “I told you Judge Cannon is legit. She is not going to tolerate Jack Smith’s bullsh*t. This is gold–she asks defense to raise possible grand jury abuse by DOJ for conducting nearly all of the investigation in DC then switching to FLA at last minute for indictment.”
Kelly added that “Cannon also won’t tolerate DOJs nonstop requests for secrecy. She already denied a govt motion asking to keep names of 80+ witnesses under seal.”
Judge CANNON comes out swinging at special counsel this morning, striking two of prosecutors’ sealed filings and demanding an explanation of “the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate” the docs case https://t.co/jawTpEvPWq pic.twitter.com/OciEt2vJql
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 7, 2023
BREAKING: I told you Judge Cannon is legit. She is not going to tolerate Jack Smith’s bullsh*t.
This is gold–she asks defense to raise possible grand jury abuse by DOJ for conducting nearly all of the investigation in DC then switching to FLA at last minute for indictment. pic.twitter.com/uu58SJc7PO
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) August 7, 2023
Over the weekend, Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz threatened to call Jack Smith before a congressional committee after the special counsel filed new charges against Trump.
The felony charges — which include conspiracy to defraud the United States — are part of the investigation into alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Gaetz took Smith to task, as well as fellow Republicans, after the filing.
“House Republicans should immediately demand that Jack Smith present himself for a transcribed interview with the Judiciary Committee in the next 15 days.,” Gaetz said in a Newsmax interview he posted to YouTube.
“If he does not do that, we should send a subpoena. If he ignores the subpoena, we should hold him in criminal contempt of the Congress, so that he is the first prosecutor in American history to prosecute a case while himself under criminal contempt,” Gaetz added.
He also said he is prepared to try and force U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s hand on the matter.
“If Merrick Garland doesn’t enforce that contempt, then we ought to impeach Merrick Garland,” he said.
“To showcase how political and indeed dirty this has all become, we can utilize congressional immunities to immunize President Trump,” he added, citing a section of statutory law, since upheld by the Supreme Court, that “gives any committee or subcommittee of the Congress the power to subpoena a witness, bring them in and partially immunize them.”
DEFUND JACK SMITH’S WITCH HUNT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP!https://t.co/TzWJJPbP5a https://t.co/1UzAd8wTnC
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) August 1, 2023
Gaetz said it is necessary to “stand up for Congress’s equities when it comes to election interference [and] when it comes to misuse of the DOJ.”
“This is all an effort to try to distract us from the very real crimes committed by Hunter and Joe Biden,” Gaetz added.
“It’s not a coincidence that Joe Biden is going to the beach now, but it is especially not a coincidence that, on the heels of their former business partner, Devon Archer, saying that Joe Biden was functionally the closer — the guy that gave the credibility to the Biden brand so they could engage in their international influence peddling — this indictment reads like a torturing of First Amendment-protected activity,” he continued.
Last month, Gaetz introduced legislation to defund Smith’s investigation.
The Florida Republican’s bill comes as Robert Hur, a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, hasn’t been heard from much since he was authorized in January. It also comes as Trump predicted that Smith would soon indict him over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“I will be introducing legislation to DEFUND Jack Smith’s witch hunt against President Trump,” Gaetz wrote on Twitter just hours after Trump’s announcement on Truth Social.
“They are attacking our democracy and engaging in election interference right now. The United States Congress has the capability to stop this election interference, and we must act immediately!” Gaetz noted further.
