When Judge Denied Trump’s Request to Have Classified Docs Case Dismissed For its 'Vagueness'

Donald Trump's move to have the Florida lawsuit involving the confidential materials dismissed was denied on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. As for the long accusations against Trump for stockpiling sensitive materials at his private club, his defense team said that 32 of the counts were under the Espionage Act, a statute that was too ambiguous to be relevant to his case. 

As reported by The Hill, Judge Aileen Cannon's decision was made after she voiced doubts about Trump's lawsuit being dismissed due to 'unconstitutional vagueness' during the three-hour hearing on Thursday. Asserting that the statute was ambiguous as it related to Trump, Trump's legal team filed nine separate motions in an attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed in February.

Cannon only addressed two of Trump's nine motions, and she refrained from making a decision right away about the other pertinent issue, which was whether the case should be dismissed following the Presidential Records Act. Judge Cannon made it apparent that Trump may have another chance at winning after other portions of the case have developed by turning down the Trump team's plea to have those charges dropped. 

Trump has maintained that the more than 300 classified documents found at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, may be personal rather than official government documents. When someone knowingly keeps records related to national security and has good grounds to think they may be used to harm the United States or benefit a foreign power, the Espionage Act prohibits 'unauthorized possession' of such materials. According to Trump's attorneys, the statute contains 'confusing and complex' language that, when applied to his case, would have violated his due process rights under the Constitution.

While running for reelection, Trump has claimed on the campaign trail that he should be exempt from prosecution and that the issue should be dropped due to the Presidential Records Act. The statute does clarify, however, that the United States, not the president, owns the official records of the president and his staff. Special Counsel Jack Smith attended the hearing and was assigned to oversee both this case and the election meddling investigation against Trump in Washington.

As reported by CNN, the judge said many times that a jury should hear some of Trump's claims in his last trial. Cannon repeatedly pressed Trump's lawyers on whether their claims—namely, that Trump was unaware he was breaching the law when he brought papers to Mar-a-Lago—were 'premature.' Though she seemed to sympathize with some of the former President's grievances with the criminal prosecution, Cannon said that the arguments may make for a 'forceful' trial defense. According to Cannon, the trial's originally planned start date of May 20 will now take place later. In a hearing held last month, she said that the suggested July 8 start date is probably too soon, partly because of the Trump hush money case that is set to go to trial in Manhattan later this month. The prosecution has recommended that the trial begin on August 12.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 15, 2024. It has since been updated.