Donald Trump went to a Florida court on Thursday to attend to his lawyers’ request that he drop charges against him over his possible casual handling of classified documents upon his departure from the White House. Judge Allyn Cannon, in charge of the case, is holding a day-long hearing in a court north of Miami to hear a motion by the 77-year-old billionaire’s lawyers to dismiss the case.
The Republican nominee for the November presidential election is accused of compromising national security by possessing classified documents and pleaded not guilty in June.
Among these documents, some of which “Top Secret”: Information on military plans or even nuclear weapons. After his departure from the White House in January 2021, they were kept at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, rather than being turned over to the National Archives as required by law.
If Trump is re-elected, he could order a halt to the proceedings
He is also accused of attempting to destroy evidence in the case, for which he faces a total of 41 cases. According to his lawyers, Donald Trump had the right to keep these documents under the terms of the Presidential Records Act, and the judge should have dismissed his indictment.
But special prosecutor Jack Smith, who filed the indictment against the former president, rejected that argument in a court document. Donald “Trump was not allowed to have classified documents at all (let alone in unsecured locations at Mar-a-Lago)”Jack Smith said.
The trial, originally scheduled for May 20, will likely be postponed for several months, with Judge Cannon needing to schedule enough to allow. “Flexibility”, especially because of the potential for overlap with other criminal proceedings against the former president. Donald Trump’s lawyers argue that“Fair trial cannot happen before the end of 2024 presidential election”. If he is re-elected, Donald Trump, once inaugurated in January 2025, could order an end to the federal prosecution against him.
