The federal judge presiding over Donald Trump’s classified documents trial has denied his motion to dismiss the federal case.
According to reports, Trump’s legal team had sought to throw out more than a half dozen of the 41 counts in the indictment, which accused the former commander in chief of illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with others to conceal sensitive files from the federal government.
Fox News has more:
The defendants had challenged counts related to obstruction and false statements, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued an order Monday saying that “the identified deficiencies, even if generating some arguable confusion, are either permitted by law, raise evidentiary challenges not appropriate for disposition at this juncture, and/or do not require dismissal even if technically deficient, so long as the jury is instructed appropriately and presented with adequate verdict forms as to each Defendants’ alleged conduct.”
Cannon did, however, agree to strike down a paragraph from the indictment that defense lawyers argued was prejudicial information that was not essential to the underlying charges.
At another turn she seemed to criticize Smith for using what is known as a “speaking indictment” where prosecutors lay out their charges in great detail, essentially telling the story of their case through court documents.
“The Court also notes the risks that can flow from a prosecutor’s decision to include in a charging document an extensive narrative account of his or her view of the facts, especially in cases of significant public interest,” Cannon wrote.
The decision from Cannon clears from her desk one of the many numerous pretrial motions from Trump seeking to toss the case.
Cannon has pointed to those motions in indefinitely punting the trial date.
Trump is facing charges on 41 counts in connection with the case, the majority of which are Espionage Act charges targeting the retention of classified records after he left the White House. He is also facing obstruction of justice charges related to his failure to return the records after a subpoena
