Judge Orders Lawyers in Trump Case to Start Getting Security Clearances
The judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s indictment on charges of illegally retaining national defense information issued an order on Thursday instructing any lawyer who wants to take part in the case to start the process of obtaining a security clearance to handle classified material by early next week.
The brief order by the federal judge, Aileen M. Cannon, instructed the lawyers to reach out to the Litigation Security Group at the Justice Department by Tuesday to “expedite” the process for getting a clearance.
Neither of the lawyers who appeared with Mr. Trump at his arraignment in Miami on Tuesday — Todd Blanche and Christopher M. Kise — have active security clearances, but both have been in touch with the Justice Department about getting them, a person familiar with the matter said. Mr. Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, used to have one, and a member of Mr. Kise’s law firm has one now, the person said. That member will be assisting in Mr. Trump’s case.
Any lawyer representing Mr. Trump — and he is still considering candidates — is going to need an active clearance because he has been accused of illegally taking 31 documents with him when he left office, many of which were classified as top secret, one of the country’s most sensitive security designations.
Source: The New York Times
