In a Florida courtroom on Wednesday, a judge heard arguments on a motion by Donald Trump‘s legal representatives to dismiss the charges against the former president.
Trump faces allegations of improperly handling classified materials, and his team is pushing for a swift resolution to the case.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who has already halted Donald Trump’s criminal trial in its tracks, is now presiding over a crucial hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida. The outcome of this hearing could have far-reaching implications for the former president’s legal woes.
With his sights set on reclaiming the presidency in November, Donald Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, are pulling out all the stops to quash the legal proceedings against them. Each has filed a motion with Judge Cannon, arguing that the case should be tossed out of court.
Last summer, Donald Trump stood before a Florida judge, denying any wrongdoing as he entered a plea of not guilty to a slate of federal charges. The allegations against him include illegally retaining classified national defense information, conspiring to obstruct justice, and making false statements.
According to the indictment, Donald Trump recklessly stored classified documents, including sensitive records from the Pentagon, CIA, and National Security Agency, in an unsecured location at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Moreover, he allegedly hindered official attempts to recover the files, exacerbating the security breach.
Trump — who is currently on trial in New York, accused in a separate case of falsifying business records to pay hush money to a porn star — is not expected to attend Wednesday’s proceedings.
The dismissal motion to be heard on Wednesday is the latest of several that Trump’s lawyers have unsuccessfully filed with Cannon in a bid to have the charges tossed out.
This hearing is a significant step in the case, as it is the first proceeding since Judge Cannon’s decision on May 7 to postpone Trump’s trial, which was initially scheduled to begin this month.
Citing an overwhelming number of pre-trial motions, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, has ruled out the possibility of commencing the trial on the initially scheduled date of May 20.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump has been significantly delayed, making it highly unlikely that the trial will be heard before the presidential election, now just months away, in a major setback for the prosecution.
As part of their legal strategy, Trump’s attorneys have been attempting to delay his criminal trials until after the election, potentially clearing the way for a presidential pardon or a swift resolution to the federal charges against him.
Separate from the New York and Florida cases, Trump is confronting charges in Washington and Georgia stemming from his alleged efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 election, won by Joe Biden, who is likely to be his opponent in the November presidential contest.