Judge Cannon sets separate secret hearings to confer with Trump attorneys and Jack Smith

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday scheduled two sealed hearings to speak separately with Donald Trump's attorneys and special counsel Jack Smith.

In a two-page order, the Trump-appointed judge said she followed the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) in sealing the ex parte hearings. Both hearings will take place Monday, Feb. 12.

ALSO READ: Anti-abortion Florida congresswoman dumps husband's stem cell stock amid gov lawsuit

Cannon's order would allow Trump to attend the first hearing, but his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, were excluded for security reasons.

The special counsel was ordered to attend a second hearing to discuss CIPA motions and unfinished business from an earlier ex parte hearing.

Trump has been charged with mishandling classified documents and scheming with his co-defendants to delete security footage. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Smith recently refuted claims that Trump was being politically persecuted.

"Referrals to offices with authority to consider the security concerns prompted by the revelation that Trump possessed classified records at Mar-a-Lago was, again, entirely appropriate and in no way indicative of political bias," Smith's office wrote in one filing.