n the other, the jury would be able to examine a record that had been retained by a former president and make a finding that it was either “personal or presidential,” under the PRA. Under this scenario, it is possible jurors could find that some official documents were mishandled.

Federal prosecutors rejected both proposals and wrote Tuesday that the PRA — a 1978 law that manages the maintenance of White House documents produced during each presidency — “should not play any role at trial at all,” arguing that Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified records occurred after his presidency ended.

“If this case is presented to a jury—which it should not be—the jury would be forced to resolve factual issues relating to not only PRA categorizations but also documents’ alleged classification status,” Trump’s defense team argued in their filing.