Washington DC, United States

Former US president Donald Trump's bid to dismiss the classified documents case was denied by a judge on Thursday (April 4). 

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Trump has been accused of mishandling classified documents during his tenure as the president and has argued that the documents were seen as personal papers under the Presidential Records Act.

The charges against Trump "make no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offence," wrote US District Judge Aileen Cannon.

"For these reasons, accepting the allegations of the Superseding Indictment as true, the Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss," the judge added. This also raised the possibility of the argument being used by the defence in the case later. 

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Cannon had asked the two sides to address the argument of whether the national security documents can be labelled as personal in proposed jury instructions. Special counsel Jack Smith's office said that the argument was "fundamentally flawed".

Trump has been charged by Special Counsel Smith in a 40-count indictment which includes 32 alleged violations of a national security law called the Espionage Act, under which it is illegal to mishandle national defence information.

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More than 300 sensitive government records were finally recovered by the FBI from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and he was accused of keeping them illegally by the prosecutors.

Judge says the issue is 'unprecedented and unjust'

In her Thursday ruling (April 4), the judge said that the issue now is "unprecedented and unjust."

Cannon said that her order soliciting preliminary draft instructions was "a genuine attempt, in the context of the upcoming trial, to better understand the parties’ competing positions and the questions to be submitted to the jury in this complex case."

As per the Presidential Records Act, the president is required to return the presidential records at the end of their term, however, they can keep their personal records, which they refer to as documents which contain “highly personal information, such as diaries, journals, and medical records.” 

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“Trump’s entire effort to rely on the PRA is not based on any facts,” said the prosecutors. 

“It is a post hoc justification that was concocted more than a year after he left the White House, and his invocation in this Court of the PRA is not grounded in any decision he actually made during his presidency to designate as personal any of the records charged," he added. 

The trial will begin on May 20. However, the judge has repeatedly hinted that the date will be pushed back and both sides have been asked to submit new proposed dates. The two sides proposed dates in late February, however, Cannon failed to give a ruling. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

(With inputs from agencies)