DOJ drops appeal against Trump co-defendants, ending classified documents case
The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to drop the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s two former co-defendants, who were accused of conspiring to hide classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne in Florida asked the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court to dismiss the case against the co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in a way that it could never be filed again.
Former special counsel Jack Smith had previously dropped two federal cases against Trump, on charges he tried to steal the 2020 election and that he unlawfully retained national defense records after leaving the White House, after he won the Nov. 5 election. Longstanding department policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira, by ruling Smith was appointed illegitimately.
But federal prosecutors under former Attorney General Merrick Garland asked the appeals to overturn her decision for the remaining charges against Nauta and De Oliveira. Prosecutors argued the special counsels have been upheld for decades to conduct independent criminal investigations.
Trump was charged with mishandling classified documents, including by willfully retaining national defense information after his presidency. Those documents allegedly included information on U.S. and foreign military capabilities.
Trump has remained critical of the Justice Department and the FBI for the search of Mar-a-Largo in August 2022, when the documents were seized.
The appeals court didn’t immediately react to O'Byrne's request, but the motion essentially brought an end to the long-running case. Nauta and De Oliveira had pleaded not guilty and denied the charges.
Garland released part of Smith's final report explaining the evidence and reasons he decided on charges in the election interference case. But Garland said he wouldn't publicly release the second volume of the report about the classified documents case until the case against Nauta and De Oliveira was resolved.
Garland said he would provide the report to the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but Cannon blocked him.