Classified confidential documents Trump calls for the lawsuit in Florida to be dropped

Judge Eileen Cannon, who is in charge of the case, is holding a day-long hearing in a North Miami court to hear motions to dismiss filed by the 77-year-old billionaire's lawyers.

The Republican presidential candidate in November was accused of endangering national security by keeping secret documents and pleaded not guilty in June.

Among these documents, some of which are considered “top secret,” are military plans or even information about nuclear weapons. It was kept after he left the White House in January 2021 at his private residence, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, instead of being turned over to the National Archives as required by law.

He is also charged with attempting to destroy evidence in the case, for which he faces a total of 41 charges.

According to his lawyer, Donald Trump had the right to retain these documents under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act, and the judge should dismiss the indictment against him.

But Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who filed the indictment against the former president, rejected that argument in a court document.

“Trump was not authorized to possess classified documents at all (let alone unsecured locations at Mar-a-Lago),” Jack Smith said.

The trial, which was scheduled for May 20, is likely to be postponed for several months, with Judge Cannon wanting a timeline spaced out enough to allow “flexibility,” particularly because of the potential for overlap with other criminal proceedings against the former president.

Donald Trump's lawyers say that “a fair trial cannot be held until after the 2024 presidential election.”

If elected again, Donald Trump, once inaugurated in January 2025, could order the federal proceedings against him to end.