Media Coalition Seeks Disclosure in Secret Trump Documents Case

(CNN) — A group of more than 30 major media outlets, including CNN, is seeking to release information, including the names of some potential witnesses, related to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago documents.

“Regardless of the outcome of this investigation, the public must have confidence in this process, and that confidence can only be fostered through transparency from start to finish in this case,” lawyers for the coalition wrote to the judge on Monday.

The redacted information in recent court documents is the subject of a fight between Trump's lawyers and the special counsel's office.

Prosecutors from the special counsel's office have told the judge overseeing the case that they must confirm the “identity of any potential government witnesses,” intelligence information and FBI code names not disclosed in court documents from a separate investigation.

Trump's team has argued that the information should be available to the public.

Much of the comings and goings of the criminal national security misconduct case against Trump and two of his staffers have been shrouded in secrecy because of how the case contains central classified information.

Legal teams participating in the trial must take special measures to work with confidential information in the case, and defense attorneys periodically travel to a secure facility in South Florida to review evidence and prepare for the trial, which is still scheduled for May.

Now the media coalition is asking Judge Eileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court in South Florida to review the recent amendments to ensure they are reasonable and only made out of “compelling necessity,” according to a new filing.

The fight over media transparency comes as Trump's legal team seeks access to additional records from federal agencies such as Biden's White House counsel's office, the Homeland Security Council and the intelligence agency. In their redacted court documents, Trump's attorneys have presented records they want to build a defense in his case.

Trump's team wants its filings to contain minimal redactions, while the Justice Department has argued that redactions should be in place so that details that could be made public do not jeopardize witness protection or national security.

Lawyers for the Press Alliance said they were not trying to access confidential documents in the court file.

In addition to CNN, the media alliance includes ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, C-SPAN, Wall Street Journal, Fox News Network, NPR, NBC News, New York Times, Politico, Washington Post and many other national news publishers. Local news media and television stations.