Judge Cannon has called for further hearings to address President Trump's challenges to key evidence in his classified documents case. She has also permitted Trump's legal team to question witnesses regarding the investigation and the search conducted at Mar-a-Lago.
In a new order issued on Thursday, the Florida judge requested additional information concerning the language used in the FBI warrant that authorized the seizure of classified records from Mar-a-Lago in 2022, as well as grand jury testimony from Trump's former attorney.
While these matters were discussed during hearings on Tuesday, Judge Cannon did not make any rulings at that time.
In her 11-page order, Cannon appeared to respond to her critics. “There is a difference between a resource-wasting and delay-producing ‘mini-trial,’ on the one hand, and an evidentiary hearing geared to adjudicating the contested factual and legal issues on a given pre-trial motion to suppress,” she wrote.
Judge Cannon indicated she would review the wording used in the search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago two years ago and examine the Justice Department’s reliance on testimony from Trump’s former attorney, Evan Corcoran, to support the obstruction component of the case.
The special counsel’s office has firmly opposed the necessity for additional hearings and Trump’s efforts to exclude parts of the case.
The court proceedings, involving witness testimony and evidence presentation, are set to take place before the trial. Judge Cannon will need to determine whether the evidence seized from Trump’s Florida estate and the grand jury testimony of his former attorney, Evan Corcoran, can be admitted at trial.
Cannon has not yet scheduled the additional hearings. In her order, she outlined the necessary steps to be completed before these hearings can occur.
Trump’s lawyers argue that the language used in the search warrant authorizing agents to seize national defense information and Presidential Records was not sufficiently specific. Judge Cannon acknowledged that there were “ambiguities” in the wording.
However, Judge Cannon denied Trump’s request for an additional hearing on the validity of the court-approved warrant to search several rooms at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s legal team is also challenging a decision by a Washington, D.C. federal court during the grand jury investigation, which compelled Evan Corcoran to disclose his conversations with Trump.
Cannon stated that she would revisit the use of Corcoran’s notes and testimony concerning his former client.
Read Cannon’s order here.
