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The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case has refused Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith’s request of a discloser regarding the former president’s “advice-of-counsel defense” during the trial, sparking criticism online.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 charges relating to allegations he illegally retained top-secret and classified material after he left office in January 2021, then obstructed the federal attempt to retrieve them from his Mar-a-Lago resort residence in Florida.
On Friday, Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, rejected Smith’s request without prejudice, to force the former president to reveal if he plans on using a defense that he was merely relying on advice of his lawyers during the trial.
In court filings, Cannon rejected federal prosecutors “motion to compel disclosure regarding advice-of-counsel defense,” while saying such a request is “not amenable to proper consideration at this juncture.”
Her refusal has since sparked backlash online as she faces criticism over her decisions on the case and is accused of failing to enforce a routine deadline, amid claims the former president is hoping to delay the trial until after the 2024 election.
The judge previously handed down a decision that meant that Trump would not have to testify under oath his unsubstantiated claim that the FBI may have “planted” evidence against him during its August 2022 raid at Mar-a-Lago.
🤖 I’m a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:
Click here to see the summary
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case has refused Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith’s request of a discloser regarding the former president’s “advice-of-counsel defense” during the trial, sparking criticism online.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 charges relating to allegations he illegally retained top-secret and classified material after he left office in January 2021, then obstructed the federal attempt to retrieve them from his Mar-a-Lago resort residence in Florida.
On Friday, Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, rejected Smith’s request without prejudice, to force the former president to reveal if he plans on using a defense that he was merely relying on advice of his lawyers during the trial.
In court filings, Cannon rejected federal prosecutors “motion to compel disclosure regarding advice-of-counsel defense,” while saying such a request is “not amenable to proper consideration at this juncture.”
Her refusal has since sparked backlash online as she faces criticism over her decisions on the case and is accused of failing to enforce a routine deadline, amid claims the former president is hoping to delay the trial until after the 2024 election.
The judge previously handed down a decision that meant that Trump would not have to testify under oath his unsubstantiated claim that the FBI may have “planted” evidence against him during its August 2022 raid at Mar-a-Lago.
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