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(CNN) — A federal judge’s decision to toss out Donald Trump’s classified documents criminal case means the former president can now talk to his co-defendants and potential witnesses about what happened at Mar-a-Lago without facing consequences.
The conditions of release the Southern District of Florida court placed on Trump and his two co-defendants – Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira – no longer exist because the case is closed, according to several people familiar with the matter.
That means Trump, his co-defendants and potential witnesses against them are no longer barred from discussing the case among each other.
Nauta, who serves as Trump’s personal aide, is currently with the former president in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. The two were together when defense attorneys were trying to inform them the case was dismissed on Monday, according to people familiar.
De Oliveira remains the property manager at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
The release conditions placed on the three men were intended to ensure the integrity of the evidence in the case. Such conditions are the norm in the federal district where the criminal case was brought. The three had an additional restriction placed on them while they were defendants that explicitly barred them from commenting publicly on or talking in detail with dozens of possible witnesses from the investigation.
Prosecutors had indicated in court filings that there were some seven dozen witnesses with whom Trump should be barred form speaking about the case.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was overseeing the criminal case, tossed it out on Monday in an unexpected order in which the judge said that special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges, was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
De Oliveira was “elated” Cannon dismissed the criminal case against him and the former president, his attorney John Irving told CNN.
“It was a huge weight off if his shoulders,” Irving said.
De Oliveira had been charged with obstructing investigators by attempting to hide video surveillance footage that captured the movement of national security records at Mar-a-Lago while the federal government sought their return. He had pleaded not guilty.
“We certainly agree with the court’s ruling, but this case has been absurd from the start. The government should never have put Mr. De Oliveira in this position in the first place,” Irving said.
The Justice Department said on Monday it is planning to appeal the judge’s decision to dismiss the case – and received authorization from within the department to do so on an extraordinarily fast turnaround. It’s possible an appeal filing could come in the next few days.
The-CNN-Wire
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