A federal judge has denied attempts to dismiss nearly 10 of the 41 charges in the indictment against Donald Trump and his two co-defendants in the federal criminal classified documents case in Florida. According to CNN, The defendants had raised several technical issues, but District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled against them.
However, Judge Cannon did side with the defendants on a minor point, agreeing that some language in the indictment was “legally unnecessary” and ordering the removal of one paragraph. as reported by the NYTimes, This paragraph described an incident where Trump allegedly showed a classified map to a representative of his political organization and remarked that he should not be sharing it.
Prosecutors had included this paragraph under a procedural rule that permits the admission of evidence related to uncharged conduct. Judge Cannon, however, ruled that such evidence should undergo pretrial litigation before being introduced in court.
In her explanation, she criticized the prosecutors’ use of a “speaking indictment,” which includes a detailed narrative beyond the basic legal requirements. told by ABC News, Cannon highlighted the potential risks of providing an extensive narrative in a charging document, especially in high-profile cases.
Despite this small win for the defense, the judge dismissed other technical objections, including concerns about duplicity in the charges. She stated that any identified deficiencies, though potentially confusing, were permissible by law and could be addressed during the trial. Judge Cannon emphasized that as long as the jury receives proper instructions and adequate verdict forms for each defendant’s alleged conduct, there would be no issue.
