(ConservativeInsider.org) – The judge in former President Donald Trump’s criminal case over the mishandling of classified documents has indicated that she is open to the claims of the defense and seems unlikely to start the trial before July, leading prosecutors to believe they are facing an uphill battle against the former president.
Trump is involved in several legal battles at the moment, which he claims are politically motivated against him. This case is over allegations that Trump illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges of intentionally retaining highly sensitive documents and records related to national defense, as well as allegations that he knowingly obstructed government efforts to retrieve them.
Aileen Cannon, a US District judge who was nominated to her position by Trump when he was in office, has asked both the prosecution and the defense to submit proposed jury instructions that seem to favor positions the defense has put forth. The jury instructions requested involved the Presidential Records Act and the “competing interpretations” of it.
Trump has argued that the Presidential Records Act, which typically requires a president to return all documents to the National Archives at the end of their term, allows him to designate government documents as personal files. According to prosecutors, Trump is unable to designate the files found at his estate as personal because they deal with sensitive US intelligence and military matters.
According to outside experts, Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Trump, will likely submit the requested jury instructions and appeal once Cannon makes her decision. Adam Pollock, a former New York Assistant Attorney General, believes the judge’s request is a signal that she is likely to rule in Trump’s favor because she doesn’t think the case against him is “warranted.” Pollock pointed out that appellate courts have reversed several of Cannon’s rulings in this case, leading him to believe the same will occur if Smith files an appeal.
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