U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has denied a motion by former President Donald Trump to dismiss many counts of his indictment in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, reported MSNBC's Katie Phang.
Trump's legal team had argued that the charges against him for unlawfully retaining classified information were defective due to "unconstitutional vagueness."
Cannon, a judge Trump himself appointed who has faced controversy for what many experts have called Trump-favorable rulings on some other issues, had appeared skeptical of this argument at a hearing on Thursday.
"Although the Motion raises various arguments warranting serious consideration, the Court ultimately determines, following lengthy oral argument, that resolution of the overall question presented depends too greatly on contested instructional questions about still-fluctuating definitions of statutory terms/phrases as charged, along with at least some disputed factual issues as raised in the Motion," wrote Cannon.
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"For that reason, rather than prematurely decide now whether application of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e) in these circumstances yields unsalvageable vagueness despite the asserted judicial glosses, the Court elects to deny the Motion without prejudice, to be raised as appropriate in connection with jury-instruction briefing and/or other appropriate motions."
Despite all of this, Cannon has so far remained tight-lipped about changes she might make to the trial schedule, which is widely expected to be pushed back from its current date of May 20.
Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a July trial date, while Trump's attorneys want it to be in August at the very earliest, and ideally after the election altogether.
