Former President Donald Trump is facing a legal challenge over his alleged retention and concealment of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021 as reported by Bloomberg News on Friday, February 23, 2024.
He has asked a federal judge in Florida to dismiss the criminal charges against him, arguing that his actions were protected by presidential immunity.
The case was brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump’s handling of sensitive records.
Smith alleges that Trump violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires presidents to preserve and transfer all official records to the National Archives at the end of their term.
According to the indictment, Trump designated certain documents as personal and instructed his staff to move them from a storage room at his Mar-a-Lago club to various locations, including a bathroom, an office, and a storage unit.
He also allegedly shared some of the documents with unauthorized people and indicated that he knew they were classified.
The documents included information on nuclear weapons, foreign policy, and national security.
Smith claims that Trump’s actions obstructed the government’s efforts to retrieve the documents and posed a risk to national security.
He also accuses Trump and two of his employees, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, of attempting to delete surveillance footage of the documents being moved, days after they received a subpoena for the recordings.
Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are scheduled to go to trial on May 20.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, filed a motion to dismiss the case on Thursday, saying that Trump’s decision to designate the documents as personal was an official act and therefore subject to presidential immunity.
He also argued that the Presidential Records Act does not criminalize the retention or concealment of documents, and that the obstruction charges are based on a vague and overbroad interpretation of the law.
“The alleged decision was an official act, and as such is subject to presidential immunity,” Blanche said in the filing.
The motion to dismiss sets up a high-stakes ruling by US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who will decide if the case can proceed to trial.
Cannon could also take the motion under advisement and make a decision later, after a jury is seated.
The case is one of four criminal prosecutions that Trump is facing as he campaigns to return to the White House in the 2024 election.
His first trial, over claims that he falsified business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election, is set to start on March 25 in Manhattan.
He is also facing charges in Georgia and Washington DC over his attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 election and his role in the attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
He has appealed to the US Supreme Court to dismiss the cases, citing presidential immunity and other arguments.
He has denied any wrongdoing and called the cases against him a “witch hunt” by his political enemies.
The Supreme Court could rule on his appeals at any time.
Trump’s legal troubles have raised questions about his ability to run for office again and his influence over the Republican Party.
Some of his allies have expressed support for him, while others have distanced themselves or criticized him.
He remains popular among his base of supporters, who have rallied around him and donated to his political action committee.
He has also endorsed several candidates for the 2022 midterm elections, hoping to regain control of Congress for the Republicans.
He has not officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, but he has hinted at it several times.
He has also attacked his potential rivals, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and some of his fellow Republicans.
He has vowed to “Make America Great Again” and to “Save America” from the Democrats.
