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June 16 (UPI) -- The Justice Department on Friday asked the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's classified documents case to impose a protective order over the evidence. Special Counsel Jack Smith is seeking to prevent Trump or co-defendant Walt Nauta, his presidential valet, from disclosing sensitive information obtained during the discovery process, in which prosecutors will show the defense what evidence it has amassed during their investigation.
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According to ABC News, the special counsel said that the materials include "sensitive and confidential information," including personal identifiable information, information that reveals investigative techniques, non-public information relating to potential witnesses, and personal information contained on electronic devices and accounts.
Trump faces 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, according to the indictment that was filed last week in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida in Miami.
Nauta also is charged in the 49-page indictment, which details how secret U.S. government papers allegedly were improperly and carelessly stored at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who has been assigned to the case, referred the motion to magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart for consideration.
The government specifically asked that neither Trump or Nauta leak information to the news media.
"The 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 to and consent of the United States or approval of the Court," the Justice Department said, according to The Hill.
