Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, has set apart an entire day to hear arguments on whether the prosecution should be thrown out on the basis of Trump’s claims about his presidential classification powers. Trump is facing dozens of charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, and for obstructing the Justice Department’s investigation. As president, defense attorneys argue, Trump was the chief classification officer and could mark any documents as “personal” and legally take those documents with him when he left office. Their arguments cite the Presidential Records Act, the federal law that governs how documents from an outgoing presidential administration are handled. The PRA says the moment a president leaves office, the National Archives and Records Administration gets custody and control of all presidential records from their administration.

Source: CNN March 15, 2024 03:19 UTC