The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against President Trump has rejected a motion to dismiss several charges in the indictment.
Trump’s defense team had requested the dismissal of over six of the 41 charges, which allege that the president unlawfully retained classified documents from his time in office and conspired with others to hide sensitive materials from the federal authorities.
The defendants contested charges related to obstruction and false statements. However, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled on Monday that the alleged deficiencies, while potentially causing some confusion, are either legally permissible, present evidentiary challenges not suitable for resolution at this stage or do not necessitate dismissal as long as the jury is given proper instructions and adequate verdict forms for each defendant’s alleged actions.
Judge Cannon did agree to remove a paragraph from the indictment that the defense argued contained prejudicial information unnecessary to the core charges.
Previously, Cannon has denied several other motions to dismiss the case. This includes a motion asserting that the Presidential Records Act allowed Trump to retain the documents after leaving the White House and to categorize them as his personal files.
Monday’s motion to dismiss half a dozen counts from the indictment is one of many pretrial requests and disputes that have accumulated before Judge Cannon over the past months. These ongoing issues have slowed the case’s progress and delayed the trial. Additional arguments are set to be heard later this month.
Read Cannon’s order here.
