Former President Donald Trump moved Thursday night to dismiss his classified documents case in Florida.
In four separate court filings, Trump urged Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss the case based on presidential immunity, the indictment’s “unconstitutional vagueness,” the Presidential Records Act, and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “unlawful appointment.” Trump was initially indicted in June 2022 for his alleged mishandling of classified documents retained at Mar-a-Lago, but a superseding indictment in July added more charges, bringing the total to 40 counts.
Mar-a-Lago employees Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira were also indicted in the probe.
“President Trump was still the President of the United States when, for example, many of the documents at issue were packed (presumably by the GSA), transported, and delivered to Mar-A-Lago,” his attorneys wrote in one Thursday filing.
They argue that the Presidential Records Act “precludes judicial review of the President’s recordkeeping practices and decisions.”
“That structure is rooted in the separation of powers doctrine, which stands as a key basis for our system of government and rule of law,” his attorneys wrote, stating that “DOJ and NARA have adopted this position with respect to government officials whose last name is not Trump.”
In his filing arguing for dismissal based on presidential immunity, Trump urged Judge Aileen Cannon not to follow the D.C. Circuit’s “poorly reasoned decision” rejecting his use of the same argument to dismiss his election interference case, writing that the court “erred” in finding he is not immune from prosecution. Trump asked the Supreme Court not to let that decision take effect earlier this month.
Trump also urged Cannon to dismiss the indictment because Smith “lacks the authority” to prosecute it.
“The Appointments Clause does not permit the Attorney General to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a private citizen and like-minded political ally to wield the prosecutorial power of the United States,” his attorneys wrote.
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