Former President Donald Trump was back in a Florida courtroom on Thursday as his lawyers argued for a dismissal of his ongoing classified documents case.
Trump’s legal team was arguing its position on whether all or some of the charges should be thrown out because of the 1978 law that governs the preservation of information during and following a presidency.
Special counsel Jack Smith has called on the judge overseeing the case to reject Trump’s claim that he should be shielded from prosecution because classified presidential records “can be transformed into ‘personal’” records by removing them from the White House. Trump has said that he designated the materials he took to Mar-a-Lago as personal records while still in office. A president's personal records are excluded from the act's requirements.
The presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, expressed some skepticism on the arguments coming from both sides.
At one point, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon noted that no other former president has faced criminal charges related to the law. “There has never been a situation remotely similar to this one,” Jay Bratt of the special counsel's office responded.
(Trump attorney Todd) Blanche argued that “presidents since George Washington have taken materials out of the White House” at “their own discretion,” but Cannon seemed skeptical of his arguments involving the Records Act.
“It’s difficult to see how this gets you to the dismissal of an indictment,” she said.
The 1978 law mentioned here is the Presidential Records Act of 1978.
While no other former presidents have faced charges under this law — or in any matter regarding the retention of presidential documents — there is still a great deal of discussion and argument over the retention of classified documents by the current president, who removed those documents during his tenures as senator and vice president and therefore was not covered under presidential immunity or by the Presidential Records Act.
See Related: Predictable: Special Counsel Lets Biden Off the Hook in Classified Documents Case
This and other cases against former President Trump are expected to be a point of contention in the 2024 presidential elections, especially now that both parties appear to have selected their candidates. To date, the legal cases don't seem to be hurting former President Trump's chances at a second term. November is still a long way off, but so far, former President Trump remains, as some wags are dubbing him, Teflon Don.
Possibly to ensure that this remains the case, the former president's attornies are looking to hold off any trial until the Supreme Court weighs in on a related issue.
Trump’s lawyers are also seeking to delay the trials until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on his claims of presidential immunity because it could affect how the case proceeds.
This is an ongoing case; RedState will continue to monitor developments and bring you updates as events warrant.
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