A Florida federal judge denied a bid by former President Donald Trump to dismiss his classified documents case on Presidential Records Act grounds.
Trump’s attorneys had moved to dismiss the case on those grounds, writing in a February filing that the PRA granted “unreviewable discretion on President Trump to designate the records at issue as personal.” While U.S.
Cannon wrote that the charges “make no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offense.” As for the remaining counts against Trump tacked on during a superseding indictment, “they too track the applicable statutory language and essential elements of the charged crimes,” the judge
The decision comes just two days after both parties submitted their responses to Cannon’s proposed jury instructions based on competing interpretations of two laws relevant in the case. The first scenario asked them to consider “whether the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt” that any records Trump was found to have kept at home were “personal or presidential.” The second told parties to respond to a premise that juries and courts lack the expertise to review or determine whether a president has “sole authority” under the PRA to categorize records as personal.
Smith had asked Cannon to act sooner rather than later on finalizing the jury instructions to make time for a potential writ of mandamus, or review of her determination well before any trial begins. A current date has not been established, though Smith has expressed a desire to beginthe trial by July.
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