Federal authorities are investigating online threats made to a witness in former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
The detail was included in a late Wednesday filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team as part of a broader back-and-forth over evidence in the case.
“The exhibit describes in some detail threats that have been made over social media to a prospective Government witness and the surrounding circumstances, and the fact that those threats are the subject of an ongoing federal investigation being handled by a United States Attorney’s Office,” officials wrote in the filing.
“Disclosure of the details and circumstances of the threats risks disrupting the investigation.”
The filing does not identify the witness, noting the potential for further threats.
“The details of the exhibit could reveal investigative methods, potentially further endanger the victim, and/or provide information to the suspect to which he/she may not otherwise be entitled,” prosecutors wrote.
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The three-page filing comes amid a larger dispute as Trump’s legal team has been fighting over how much information should be redacted or even sealed in court filings while they work out how to address a case dealing with highly sensitive information.
Prosecutors have also asked to make some ex parte filings to be reviewed only by the judge, excluding Trump’s legal team from review.
“Ex parte communications are disfavored, especially when the communication is being used as a basis for the Special Counsel to infringe on the Rights of the defendants and the public to open proceedings,” Trump’s legal team wrote in a response included in prosecutors’ filing.
Smith’s team has not been shy about raising corners over the threats that could result from Trump’s speech about his two federal cases, including seeking and being granted a gag order to cover his speech regarding his election interference case.