Jack Smith seeks to file sealed witness list and to delay Trump's and Nauta's trial to December

Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon requesting a delay in former President Donald Trump's trial, along with the trial of Walt Nauta, Trump's valet and body man, in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case alongside his boss, reported Lawfare's Anna Bower.

In addition to the delay, Smith is seeking to file a "sealed list of witnesses" — and Trump and Nauta will both be prohibited from discussing the case with these witnesses. Smith also wants a pre-trial conference under the Classified Information Procedures Act.

"Here’s the Justice Department’s reasoning as to why it wants Trump’s trial moved from August to December," wrote Bower. "Basically: Defense counsel still needs to obtain security clearance & legal process under the Classified Information Procedures Act will take time."

The 37-count indictment against the former president alleges that he hoarded boxes of highly classified national defense information, which he allegedly ordered moved around between unsecured areas of his Mar-a-Lago country club so that federal authorities and even his own lawyers wouldn't be able to find it.

The trial date was initially set for August by Cannon, but legal experts from the start suspected that either Smith or Trump would move for it to be pushed back.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, has come under heavy scrutiny, as she previously was smacked down by a federal court for interfering in the case to block FBI officials from reviewing classified information, and currently appears on track to hold the trial in Fort Pierce, where Trump could potentially receive a highly favorable jury pool.