In a scathing filing, the special counsel pushed back on Judge Aileen Cannonās interpretations of laws that could define the case against Trump
Special CounselĀ Jack SmithĀ went toe-to-toe with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon over her requests for jury instructions inĀ Donald TrumpāsĀ classified documents case.
In aĀ scathing filingĀ submitted Tuesday, Smith accused Cannon of operating on an āunstated and fundamentally flawed legal premiseā when she requested that the parties in the case draft different versions of their proposed jury instructions based on their competing interpretations of laws governing classified materials and presidential records.
Trump has argued that his retention of classified documents after his ouster from the White House was perfectly legal. Claiming that he both unilaterallyĀ telepathically declassifiedĀ the documents, and that they were simply personal records he was already authorized to take. The former presidentās trial on 40 charges related to his alleged mishandling of the documents is scheduled to begin in May, but willĀ likely be delayed.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Special Counsel Jack Smith went toe-to-toe with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon over her requests for jury instructions in Donald Trumpās classified documents case.
In a scathing filing submitted Tuesday, Smith accused Cannon of operating on an āunstated and fundamentally flawed legal premiseā when she requested that the parties in the case draft different versions of their proposed jury instructions based on their competing interpretations of laws governing classified materials and presidential records.
āIf the Court concludes [ā¦] that a President has carte blanche to remove any document from the White House at the end of his presidency; that any document so removed must be treated as a personal record under the PRA as an unreviewable matter of law; and that, also as a matter of law, a former President is forever authorized to possess such a document regardless of how highly classified it may be and how it is stored, that would constitute a āclearly erroneous jury instruction that entails a high probability of failure of a prosecution,ā the special counsel added, noting that they would appeal if such a decision were made.
Smith also argued that the proposed scenarios align not with established legal interpretations but with Trumpās post hoc justifications for keeping the documents.
There is no basis in law or fact for that legal presumption, and the Court should reject Trumpās effort to invent one as a vehicle to inject the PRA into this case,ā Smith wrote.
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 2020, has been criticized for her apparent indecision and slow-walking of major decisions in the case ā allowing Trumpās defense team to languish as the former president seeks to delay his criminal trials through the November election.
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