Topline
Judge Aileen Cannon appeared skeptical of former President Donald Trump’s arguments for throwing out his charges for mishandling classified documents at a hearing Thursday—but declined to issue a ruling and did not set a date for a jury trial.
The federal judge appeared to doubt Trump’s argument that the statute used to charge him was ... [+]
Key Facts
In a filing last month, Trump’s attorneys argued the charges against him should be thrown out because he used his authority under the Presidential Records Act to declare the documents “personal.”
However, Cannon said this question should be answered by a jury during a trial and told Trump’s attorney “it's difficult to see how this gets you to the dismissal of an indictment,” CNN reported.
Trump’s attorneys also tried to argue the statute used to charge him was “unconstitutionally vague,” but Cannon seemed to dismiss this line—calling it “an extraordinary step,” the Washington Post reported.
Cannon did not make a ruling from the bench on Thursday on whether to dismiss the charges, but said she would issue one “promptly.”
Cannon also did not schedule a trial date and did not speak on the topic at the hearing—potentially delaying the trial even further into the campaign season.
Key Background
Trump was indicted by the Justice Department in June 2023 after an investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith determined he improperly retained over 11,000 classified documents at his resort at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office, and took steps to obstruct the investigation and destroy evidence. Trump has long denied the charges against him, calling the investigation into him the “GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME” in a post on Truth Social shortly after the indictment was unsealed. On Thursday, Trump’s lawyers sought to dismiss 32 of the 40 charges in the indictment. His lawyers focused on the charges related to his mishandling of classified documents, and did not address the charges of obstruction.
Tangent
Trump’s attorneys also tried to argue the government was making prosecutorial decisions on “selective criteria and political bias,” directly comparing the criminal charges against Trump to the Justice Department’s decision not to pursue further charges against President Joe Biden for allegedly mishandling classified documents. However, Special Counsel Robert Hur noted in his report that there were “several material distinctions” between Trump and Biden’s cases. “After being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite. According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for many months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it,” Hur wrote. He also noted Biden returned his classified documents to the National Archives and cooperated with the investigation.