 "Donald Trump")
By Erik Larson
Donald Trump has asked a judge to toss out federal criminal charges over his alleged mishandling of classified US records after leaving the White House and obstruction of government efforts to get them back, arguing his actions were protected by presidential immunity.
The motion to dismiss, filed Thursday by the former president’s legal team in Florida, sets up a high-stakes ruling by US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who will decide if the case brought last year by Special Counsel Jack Smith can proceed to trial as soon as May 20.
Trump argues in the filing that the case hinges on his decision at the tail end of his term in office to designate certain records as personal under the Presidential Records Act. As such, he’s protected by presidential immunity, according to the filing.
“The alleged decision was an official act, and as such is subject to presidential immunity,” his lawyer Todd Blanche said in the filing.
The case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump is facing as he campaigns to return to the White House in the November election. His first criminal trial, over claims he falsified business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election, is set to start March 25 in Manhattan.
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The filing echoes immunity arguments that Trump has already made before the US Supreme Court, which is weighing his appeal of a ruling denying his motion to dismiss a separate criminal case over his attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 election and his role in the attack on the Capitol by his supporters. The high court could rule on his immunity claims at any time.
Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, alleges Trump engaged in relentless efforts to hide documents from authorities, instructing aides to shuttle boxes of sensitive information at his Mar-a-Lago estate from a ballroom to a bathroom to a storage room, as well as his office. Trump allegedly shared secret documents freely and indicated he knew some were classified.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and claims all the cases against him are part of a Democratic-led “witch hunt” to keep him from returning to office.
Trump was hit with new obstruction charges in the records case last July, including allegations that he and two employees attempted to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance video footage. The revised indictment accused Trump of directing employees to erase footage of a storage room where the documents were kept, days after his lawyers received a subpoena for any such recordings.
In addition to Trump’s personal valet, Waltine “Walt” Nauta, the revised indictment added a third defendant to the criminal case, Trump maintenance worker Carlos de Oliveira. De Oliveira referred to Trump as “the boss” and allegedly told another employee that “the boss” wanted a server with camera footage deleted. It wasn’t clear if those recordings were actually erased.
The two other defendants have also pleaded not guilty and are expected to file motions to dismiss the charges
