Donald Trump’s lawyers are getting ready to ask for a federal criminal case against him to be thrown out. The case accuses him of keeping classified documents illegally.
The hearing, set to happen in Fort Pierce, Florida, is Trump’s latest attempt to stop the four criminal cases against him. He’s doing this while he’s campaigning as the Republican candidate against President Joe Biden in the next election.
In this case, Trump has said he’s not guilty of the 40 charges. They say he unlawfully had secret national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach after he stopped being president in January 2021. They also say he stopped the government from getting these documents back.
Trump’s lawyers will argue in front of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was picked by Trump himself. They’ll say he had the right to keep these documents as “personal” under a U.S. law about presidential records.
But the prosecutors, led by U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, say documents about things like nuclear weapons and national defense can’t be called personal.
Legal battle intensifies as Trump faces multiple indictments (Via James Starc/Shutterstock)
The main argument is whether Trump knew he was breaking the law by taking these documents when he left office.
Also, Trump’s legal team wants to say that the main charge against him is too vague. This charge is about keeping illegal national defense-related information.
Thursday’s hearing will talk about two of the seven requests Trump made to drop the charges. Trump’s friends, personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira, are also trying to get the case thrown out.
This hearing might show if Judge Cannon agrees with Trump’s legal arguments. But it’s not clear when a trial might happen because both sides agree it might need to be delayed.
Trump’s legal moves, like asking for delays and trying to get the case dropped, have made his post-president legal battles very heated.
