In a scathing filing, the special counsel pushed back on Judge Aileen Cannon’s interpretations of laws that could define the case against Trump

Special Counsel Jack Smith went toe-to-toe with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon over her requests for jury instructions in Donald Trump’s classified documents case.

In a scathing filing submitted Tuesday, Smith accused Cannon of operating on an “unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise” when she requested that the parties in the case draft different versions of their proposed jury instructions based on their competing interpretations of laws governing classified materials and presidential records.

Trump has argued that his retention of classified documents after his ouster from the White House was perfectly legal. Claiming that he both unilaterally telepathically declassified the documents, and that they were simply personal records he was already authorized to take. The former president’s trial on 40 charges related to his alleged mishandling of the documents is scheduled to begin in May, but will likely be delayed.

  • xmunk
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    9 months ago

    I don’t want to gamble on how dumb Americans are. I somehow constantly underestimate it.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      9 months ago

      I’ve been chanting that mantra since W’s second election. His performance in his first term and in the debates were so abysmal that I thought it was over. Nope, turned out that people would rather have a beer with W than with John Kerry and that somehow was the important thing.

      For anyone who is unaware, this really did happen.