Special counsel Jack Smith asked Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing his classified documents case against the former president, to "correct clear error" that he claims will endanger witnesses by exposing them to threats and intimidation from "Trump world."
In a 22-page court filing on Thursday, Smith highlighted several instances where he felt Cannon made the wrong decision in releasing unredacted discovery documents at the request of Trump and media outlets.
"That discovery material, if publicly docketed in unredacted form as the Court has ordered, would disclose the identities of numerous potential witnesses, along with the substance of the statements they made to the FBI or the grand jury, exposing them to significant and immediate risks of threats, intimidation, and harassment, as has already happened to witnesses, law enforcement agents, judicial officers, and Department of Justice employees whose identities have been disclosed in cases in which defendant Trump is involved," Smith wrote in the motion.
There have reportedly been threats made to court officials in Trump's election interference cases in both Washington, D.C., and Georgia, as well as his civil fraud trial in New York.
In addition to contending that Cannon's order was wrongly decided, Smith also said that she wrongly stated that the government must show a compelling interest for keeping the documents private.
He argued that this standard does not apply to discovery documents.
"The Eleventh Circuit has held that the compelling-interest standard applied by the Court does not apply to 'documents filed in connection with motions to compel discovery,' which instead may be sealed or redacted simply upon a showing of 'good cause,'" he wrote, pointing to the 2020 case of United States v. Nickens.
"Because the Court applied the wrong legal standard ... reconsideration is warranted to 'correct clear error'" he wrote, citing the 2021 case of United States v. Grobman.
According to Newsweek, the documents in question include the names of potential witnesses, uncharged conduct of specific individuals and the FBI codename for a separate investigation.
The Justice Department's case against Trump concerns his alleged mishandling of classified materials after leaving Washington at the end of his presidency. He is currently awaiting trial on charges that he illegally retained the documents after he left office.
Facing 40 federal charges over allegations that he held onto classified materials after leaving the White House, Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and vehemently denies any wrongdoing.