Judge rejects one of Donald Trump’s bids to throw out classified documents case
A federal judge has rejected a bid by Donald Trump to throw out a criminal case that charges him with illegally holding on to classified documents after leaving the White House.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon issued the ruling after a day-long hearing in Florida during which the former president’s lawyers argued the Espionage Act is too vague to be used against him.
“It’s difficult to see how this gets you to dismissal of the indictment,” she told his lawyers at one point.
The judge also indicated she was unlikely to agree to a separate request by Mr Trump to dismiss the case on the grounds he had deemed the documents to be “personal” rather than government property.
As Mr Trump looked on in the courtroom, his legal team pressed Ms Cannon to throw out the case.
Donald Trump arrives for the hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida. Pic: Reuters
The Presidential Records Act gave him the authority to designate the records he took with him to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as personal property, his legal team argued.
However, prosecutors argued the records were clearly presidential, not personal, and included top-secret information and documents related to nuclear programmes and the military capabilities of the US and foreign countries.
Ms Cannon’s ruling on Thursday covered only the Espionage Act arguments.
A decision on the separate motion regarding the Presidential Records Act remains pending.
That issue could be addressed during the trial, the judge said. She is yet to announce when it will take place.
Prosecutors have pressed the judge to set a date for this summer, while Mr Trump’s lawyers are hoping to put it off until after the presidential election.
Read more from Sky News:
School shooter’s father convicted – after wife also found guilty
Court fines Bond actor for walking off trail at national park
Baldwin asks judge to dismiss manslaughter charges
After the hearing, Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he took note of the “big crowds” outside the courthouse, which included supporters with flags and signs who honked their car horns in solidarity with the ex-president. He again said the prosecution is a “witch hunt” inspired by President Joe Biden.
It is one of four criminal cases he faces as he tries to win back the White House.
The former president is also facing charges in relation to the riots at the US Capitol after the last presidential election, and over allegations he arranged payments to a porn actress.
The fourth case relates to accusations he criminally conspired to overturn his narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election.
US
Trump-backed North Carolina Republican Mark Robinson denies calling himself ‘black nazi’ on pornographic forum
A Republican backed by Donald Trump in his bid to be North Carolina’s governor denied reports he called himself a “black nazi” on an online message board.
CNN reported Thursday that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson posted racial and sexual comments on a pornography website more than a decade ago.
In a video posted on social media, the Republican nominee said he would not leave the race over “salacious tabloid lies”.
“We are staying in this race. We are in it to win it. And we know that with your help, we will.”
Follow the latest on the US election here
Mr Robinson also referenced the CNN report and said: “Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story – those are not the words of Mark Robinson.
“You know my words. You know my character.”
The US outlet reported Mr Robson wrote of being aroused by a memory of “peeping” women in gym showers when he was 14.
He was also said to have used a racial slur when discussing civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, referred to himself as a “black nazi,” and said: “I’d take Hitler over any of the shit that’s in Washington right now.”
CNN said it matched details of the account on the pornographic website forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name.
Sky News has not verified whether the account is linked to Mr Robinson.
Read more from Sky News:
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to remain in jail
‘Biden was so nice,’ Trump says
White House hits out at ‘irresponsible’ Musk
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Eight minutes after the report was published on Thursday, vice president Kamala Harris’ campaign started sharing videos of Donald Trump praising Mr Robinson.
One video from the campaign on X shows the former president at a March rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he called the lieutenant governor “Martin Luther King times two”.
“I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two,” Mr Trump said.
Scott Lassiter, a GOP Senate candidate in a swing district in the state, called on Mr Robinson to “suspend his campaign to allow a quality candidate to finish this race”.
Mr Trump’s campaign also appeared to be distancing itself from Mr Robinson.
The ex-president did not refer to the controversy when he addressed Jewish donors on Thursday night, instead vowing to be ‘the best friend Jewish Americans ever had”.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports6 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports11 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company