Trump was not accused of informing anyone after he left office. Cannon’s ruling suggests that he believed the type of evidence prosecutors used to establish Trump’s negligence on classified material would be better introduced as evidence at trial — not in a charging document.
This judgment will have no significant impact on the case. If jurors take the indictment with them into deliberations, they will receive a redacted version, Cannon wrote in his ruling.
The order to strike the passage in the indictment was part of Cannon’s broader ruling, which rejected a lengthy request by Trump and his co-defendants to “dismiss the charges related to failure to state a felony and the barring of related cases.” Pleading grievances.”
The defendants argued that the indictment was legally insufficient because prosecutors failed to spell out in plain language the “distinct violations of federal criminal law” on each charge. They argued that the indictment contained inappropriate language and allegations and served as a political attack against Trump.
Cannon ruled that the indictment and its language were “permitted by law.”
However, he criticized prosecutors’ approach to the indictment, writing that it was confusing and “legally unnecessary to the operation of the indictment.”
Monday’s decision was the latest instance of what Canon said were special counsel Jack Smith’s decision-making lapses.
Two weeks ago, he criticized Smith in response to a request that he order Trump to stop making incendiary claims about law enforcement personnel.
Cannon said the urgent request lacked “professional respect” because the attorneys did not properly consult with the defense before submitting their request. He also said that they contained important facts about the claim in an “editorial footnote”.
Lawyers have refiled the request after more detailed discussions with Trump’s legal team.
The Florida trial was said to begin in May, but has been delayed indefinitely as Cannon slowly wades through a backlog of pretrial motions.
In late June, Cannon plans to rehear some of Trump’s longshot motions to dismiss the lawsuit over a three-day period in his Fort Pierce, Fla., courtroom.
He also scheduled a hearing on the lawyers’ request to bar Trump from making any false claims that FBI agents were “complicit in a plot to assassinate him.”
