The filings put forth an array of arguments that go to the heart of the classified documents case and make clear that the former president’s legal team is still pursuing their clearest legal strategy to date – to delay any eventual trial date. Defense attorneys wrote that the indictment covers alleged decisions Trump made as president, which are “subject to presidential immunity” as an official act. The high court has not yet said whether it will hear arguments on the issue of presidential immunity. Defense attorneys also asserted to the judge presiding over the Florida case, Aileen Cannon, that because Trump was still president when he took the classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, he cannot be criminally charged for keeping them in his possession. Trump’s attorneys are expected to make several more filings to dismiss the classified documents case against him, which may need to go through a process of redacting information before being filed publicly.

Source: CNN February 23, 2024 04:31 UTC