Judge Aileen Cannon in 2021 (Wikimedia Commons)
The investigation into President Donald Trump involving the theft of government documents, including classified information, was deemed restricted because Judge Aileen Cannon issued a permanent injunction barring the Justice Department from releasing it outside the department. Now it seems there's a bit of a hitch in that.
Cannon was asked in a new filing whether that meant FBI agents or former FBI agents could testify about the Smith probe in other trials or investigations.
Trump's allies are at work trying to investigate those who investigated Trump. The so-called "grand conspiracy," according to Trump world, is what they're calling the Justice Department investigations done by former special counsel Jack Smith. They're attempting to prove that government officials coordinated in a conspiracy to target Trump with multiple investigations in the past ten years. It includes the Russia probe, the classified documents case, and the Jan. 6 attack. Trump was never a target of the Russia probe.
The problem is that Cannon wrote in her ruling that no one can discuss anything related to the classified documents case.
In a filing by former and possibly current FBI agents, the lawyers ask for clarification on what they can and can't say about the probe into the "unlawful retention of classified documents and national defense information by . . . . Trump."
"The government recently requested—and now, in some cases, subpoenaed—specific clients to provide non-public information about the classified documents case to individuals outside of the Department of Justice ('DOJ')," the filing said.
"Specifically, clients seek to confirm that they can freely discuss non-public information related to their work on the investigation with individuals outside of the DOJ, including but not limited to a federal grand jury and clients' own counsel, without running afoul of the terms of the order," the filing continues.
National security expert Marcy Wheeler chuckled online, saying, "They basically argue they must be permitted to talk about the case given subpoenas or requests to testify."
It puts the DOJ and Cannon in a difficult spot. Those FBI agents are being called to give information for Trump's revenge investigation around the "grand conspiracy."
But as Democrats appear poised to regain control of the House of Representatives, there are questions about whether Congress can launch its own investigation into the classified-document matter. Cannon had ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was not legitimate because he was not appointed by Congress. If Democrats take over Congress, they can appoint a special counsel and launch their own special investigation.
Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute, commented, "DOJ says Judge Cannon's injunction is broad enough to bar any disclosure of Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago report that would embarrass Trump but not so broad as to bar FBI agents from testifying about the supposed 'grand conspiracy.'"