On Wednesday, a Georgia judge announced his intention to issue a protective order preventing the public release of sensitive evidence exchanged between prosecutors and lawyers representing former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in their election interference criminal cases in the state.
Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court expressed the need to decide what information is relevant and admissible before allowing public access, stating, “Until we decide what’s going to be relevant and admissible, this case should be tried and not in the court of public opinion.” The protective order was requested by prosecutors and generally agreed to by most defense teams after confidential videos, containing interviews with four co-defendants— including attorneys Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro—were leaked to the media this week. These interviews were part of agreements to plead guilty.
During the hearing, attorney Jonathan Miller, representing defendant Misty Hampton, admitted to providing the videos to “one media outlet,” without specifying which one. Miller argued that the public had the right to know the statements made by the co-defendants to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, contending that these statements were relevant to his client’s case. Notably, ABC News and The Washington Post had already reported statements made by Ellis, Powell, Chesbro, and bail bondsman Scott Hall in their respective proffer sessions. a Georgia judge announced
Trump and the other defendants were charged with crimes related to their efforts to reverse his electoral loss to President Joe Biden in Georgia.