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A judge has blocked a convicted fraudster from filing a court brief in former President Donald Trump's classified documents case in Florida.
Judge Aileen Cannon rejected an application by Frank Edwin Pate, who wrote the extensive brief supporting Trump from La Tuna federal prison camp in Texas. Pate argued in his amicus "friend of the court" brief that he had a right under the First Amendment and the supremacy clause to file his brief on behalf of Trump.
Trump is facing 40 federal charges over his handling of sensitive materials retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House in January 2021. He is accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to return them. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is the presumptive Republican nominee for president this year.
U.S. courts frequently receive such requests, and Pate's request to file has no connection to Trump or his attorneys. In a brief response on March 12, Cannon wrote that Pate had no right to enter the case.
Her decision came just one day after Pate filed his extensive legal brief to Cannon with a request that it be entered into the case.
Pate is serving a 17-year sentence and was ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution to seven investors he defrauded while running a bogus foreign currency investment scheme.
"According to information presented in court, Pate perpetrated a fraud scheme on seven individuals who invested money with Pate for the purpose of trading foreign currency on their behalf," an FBI statement said at the time of Pate's sentencing in 2015. "Pate's scheme caused investors to invest over $3.4 million over a several year period for the purpose of currency trading. Instead of using the money for foreign currency trading, Pate spent a large portion of the money for his own personal expenses."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's attorney via email for comment on Tuesday.
Pate is known as a serial legal filer. Last year, the appeals court in his own case banned him from entering any more appeals and designated his latest attempt as "frivolous."
"Pate is WARNED that the filing of another notice of appeal of the 2016 judgment or the filing of any other frivolous, repetitive, or otherwise abusive pleadings will invite the imposition of sanctions, which may include dismissal, monetary sanctions, and restrictions on his ability to file pleadings in this court and any court subject to this court's jurisdiction," the court ruled at the time.
Pate also filed a brief in favor of his former prison mate, Jared Fogle. An actor previously known for his commercials for the Subway sandwich chain, Fogle is serving a 15-year sentence for attempting to have sex with a minor and possession of child abuse images.
In that case, the judge in Fogle's appeal rejected Pate's written motion that the Fogle case be dismissed.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more