A federal judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's argument that the case accusing the former U.S. President of illegally holding onto classified documents should be tossed out because he viewed the material as his personal records.
.jpg)
Trump, the Republican challenger to President Joe Biden in the November election, argued that his retention of highly sensitive documents at his Florida estate was authorized under a U.S. law that allows former presidents to keep personal records unrelated to their official responsibilities.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon expressed skepticism at a March 14 court hearing that the case should be dismissed based on Trump's argument, but she said it may have "some force" as a defense at trial.
On March 18, Cannon asked both Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case, to propose instructions to a future jury on how to weigh Trump's claims that the records were personal.
Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, previously rejected Trump's bid to throw out the central charge against him based on claims it was improperly vague. Trump still has several pending challenges to the case, including arguments that he has presidential immunity and was selectively targeted by prosecutors.
Prosecutors working with Smith have disputed Trump's depiction of the records as personal, alleging that they contained information about nuclear weapons programs and potential U.S. vulnerability to military attack.
Trump was not authorized to hold onto secret information related to U.S. national security after leaving the White House in 2017 even if he viewed the records as personal, prosecutors argued.