Former president Donald Trump may have hoarded more than 5,000 pages of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago, a recent court filing and new report reveal.
Judge Aileen Cannon this week issued an order in the Florida federal case against Trump noting that special counsel Jack Smith sought permission to withhold 5,100 pages of classified documents from co-defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira.
Newsweek, first to report the number Thursday, notes it has been difficult to quantify the documents seized during the FBI raid of Trump's social club in August 2022.
"Cannon's ruling offers an insight into the large number of classified documents that Trump is alleged to have been hoarding at his Florida estate," the report notes.
These documents are at the center of a contentious battle between Trump and Smith to get the case to trial before a 2024 presidential election that the former president hopes to win.
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Both sides accuse the other of playing politics.
While Trump, who pleaded not guilty to charges, contends Smith is mounting a political witch hunt, Smith says Trump's lawyers are complicating court proceedings to delay the trial past Election Day.
In the middle stands Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal judge tasked with protecting classified documents, Trump's right to a fair trial and witnesses who could be harmed upon the release of sensitive information.
Cannon's ruling this week sided with Smith by allowing him to withhold classified documents from Nauta and De Oliveira.
