Former President Donald Trump's attorneys filed a request Wednesday asking the judge in his classified documents case to reestablish a special facility at Mar-A-Lago so he is able to review evidence against him and “prepare an adequate defense,” even though prosecutors have noted the palatial Florida estate is where the alleged crimes took place.
An aerial view of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, ... [+]
A protective order determined that Trump and his team are only able to view the classified evidence at an SCIF—sensitive compartmented information facility—in the case against Trump for mishandling classified documents, The Hill reported, which his team has said is an “inappropriate, unnecessary, and unworkable restriction.”
A facility at Mar-A-Lago was previously approved by the government as a special facility at which Trump could discuss and review classified information when he was president, but the facility lost its status when he left office.
His lawyers argued that reestablishing an area that was already deemed secure is an “efficient and cost-effective way for these conversations to take place in a fully secure environment.”
Trump had previously requested he be able to discuss classified material in his “office at Mar-a-Lago, and possibly Bedminster,” but prosecutors argued that be “exceptional treatment” and pointed out that Mar-A-Lago is where the alleged crimes occurred.
In June, Trump was indicted on 37 felony charges for allegedly mishandling classified documents in a way that put national security at risk, making him the first former president to face federal charges. The indictment stems from an investigation into classified documents that were brought to Trump’s Mar-A-Lago property after his presidential term. The indictment alleges the former president was hiding classified documents throughout Mar-A-Lago, and that he asked his lawyers to lie about having documents after receiving a subpoena legally requiring him to return the records. Because the case is centered around highly classified information, there have been questions around how evidence will be handled and what the public will and won’t see. Originally, the government argued Trump shouldn’t be able to review the evidence, but ultimately agreed to show it if it was viewed at “a location designated by the Court.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart determined shortly after the indictment that “discovery materials, along with any information derived therefrom, shall not be disclosed to the public or the news media, or disseminated on any news or social media platform” without prior notice and permission from the court.
Trump has also been indicted in New York State on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, and faces another federal indictment for his role in allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.