Judge denies Trump’s motion to dismiss classified-documents case

FORT PIERCE, Florida - A federal judge on March 14 denied former United States president Donald Trump’s request to dismiss a criminal case that charges him with

illegally holding on to classified documents

after leaving the White House.

The ruling by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida came just hours after a hearing in which his lawyers argued that the central charge in the case is improperly vague.

Judge Cannon, who was appointed to her post by Trump, ruled that the question “warrants serious consideration” but should not be decided at this point.

Trump, the Republican

challenger to President Joe Biden in the Nov 5 election

, has pleaded not guilty to a 40-count indictment that accuses him of illegally taking sensitive government documents with him when he left the White House in 2021.

It is one of four criminal cases he faces as he tries to win back the White House.

At the hearing, Judge Cannon indicated that she was unlikely to agree to a separate request by Trump to dismiss the case on the grounds he had deemed the documents to be “personal” rather than government property. That issue could be addressed during the trial, she said.

“It’s difficult to see how this gets you to dismissal of the indictment,” she told Trump’s lawyers.

Trump has filed a flurry of legal motions in his four criminal cases before the election.

If he were to win back the presidency, he would have the power to end the two federal cases against him, though he would not be able to stop the two cases brought under state law.

In this case, Trump’s lawyers have made five other arguments for dismissal, which could be considered in future hearings that have not yet been scheduled.

The timing of a trial is uncertain. US special prosecutor Jack Smith has sought a July start, while Trump suggested August, even as he argued a trial should not happen before the election.

Trump’s legal manoeuvring has yielded some successes in other cases as well.

A federal case that accuses him of

illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss

to Mr Biden is on hold as the Supreme Court considers his argument that he cannot be prosecuted for actions taken as president.

An election-subversion case in Georgia state court

has been thrown into limbo as a judge considers whether to remove the lead prosecutor for having a romantic relationship with a subordinate.

Trump’s trial in the fourth case is set for March 25 on New York state charges involving

hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

He has asked for that case to be delayed as well. REUTERS