Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges related to illegally retaining military information and conspiracy to obstruct justice (French)
A federal judge on Thursday rejected a petition submitted by former President Donald Trump to drop charges against him in the case of mishandling secret official documents after he left the White House.
The Republican presidential candidate had claimed - in seeking to drop the charges against him - that he had the right to retain the documents under the Presidential Records Act.
But District Judge Elaine Cannon, appointed by Trump while he was president, rejected the request, although she left the door open to the possibility of raising the issue again during the trial.
“The Presidential Records Act does not include pretrial rules for dismissal,” Cannon said in a brief decision.
Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty last June to federal charges related to illegally retaining military information, as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
The indictments state that Trump kept secret files inside his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, including documents from the Pentagon, the CIA, and the National Security Agency, and thwarted official efforts to recover them.
Understand the positions of the parties
The private investigator Jack Smith - who brought the charges against Trump - had threatened to refer the case to the Court of Appeals after Judge Cannon indicated that the Presidential Records Act had merit in the case.
The judge had asked each side to propose draft instructions for the jury based on a reading of the law.
Although her decision to refuse to dismiss the case based on the Presidential Records Act gave Smith a partial victory, Cannon defended her request for draft jury instructions, saying they "should not be misunderstood."
"It should not be construed as anything other than what it was: a genuine attempt in the context of the upcoming trial to better understand the positions of the competing parties," she added.
Prosecutors proposed starting the trial on July 8, but Cannon has not yet set a date or issued rulings on a number of other petitions submitted by Trump's lawyers.
Trump also faces other federal charges and an indictment in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.
The judge presiding over the Georgia case rejected a petition submitted by Trump yesterday, Thursday, to dismiss the case, considering that it constituted a violation of his right to freedom of expression.
Trump's lawyers sought to postpone his various cases until after the presidential elections next November, when federal charges against him would likely be dropped if he wins.
Source: French