On Thursday, Judge Aileen Cannon accepted two amicus briefs submitted by the America First Legal Foundation group and former President Ronald Reagan's Attorney General Edwin Meese. These briefs argued for the dismissal of the case, where Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 charges over allegations of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving office and obstructing federal attempts to retrieve them.
Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump and has faced criticism for multiple rulings favoring the president in the classified documents case, approved the amicus briefs for consideration. These briefs were submitted by individuals not directly involved in the case, but offered their perspectives on the issues at hand.
In court documents, Cannon expressed that the arguments “may be of considerable help” to her, leading to speculation that the judge may be leaning towards dismissing the federal case against President Trump.
Additionally, Cannon is expected to determine the timing for Trump's appearance in front of a jury to address the classified documents charges. It is anticipated that she will postpone the trial from its current start date of May 20.
Trump's legal representatives contended that the trial cannot proceed until 2025 due to the presidential candidate's schedule, proposing a potential trial date of August. Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith's team urged Cannon to order the trial to commence in July.
