MIAMI, Florida – Federal Judge Aileen Cannon has issued an order for lawyers to submit instructions for a trial jury in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case. This decision highlights the ongoing debate over whether Trump had the authority to withhold documents from his White House, which could shape the outcome of the trial.
What makes Cannon’s request unusual is her inclusion of the Presidential Records Act (PRA) in the trial. This unexpected move has left legal experts confused about her intentions. It appears that Cannon wants the attorneys involved to consider how the PRA could impact the weighing of criminal law in relation to national security records. Trump could potentially argue that the PRA granted him authority to keep the documents he chose.
The Justice Department, on the other hand, maintains that the charges against Trump have nothing to do with the PRA and instead focus on the mishandling of classified records after his presidency. These records allegedly involved US and foreign military secrets stored without proper federal protection at a private beach club and allegedly moved to avoid detection.
Legal experts are finding it difficult to decipher Cannon’s intentions with this order. Brad Moss, a national security lawyer, expressed confusion about the purpose of the questions posed by the judge. It is unclear where Cannon is leading the attorneys involved, and these questions do not provide clear answers.
Despite the confusion, Cannon has asked both the special counsel’s office and Trump’s attorneys to draft jury instructions that include references to the Espionage Act, under which the former president is charged. The instructions should define terms and consider the two scenarios: one assuming Trump had unauthorized possession of classified records, and the other assuming he had complete authority as president under the PRA.
Legal experts liken the second scenario to a judge in a murder case asking how to instruct the jury if the murder had taken place during a fictional event called “The Purge,” where all crime is legal for a set period. It remains unclear why Cannon wants these scenarios to be considered.
This order follows a hearing where Trump’s attorneys claimed that he had unlimited power to decide which documents should be returned to the National Archives under the PRA. Trump is asking Cannon to dismiss the charges against him based on the PRA, and while the judge appeared skeptical, she acknowledged that the arguments could serve as a “forceful” defense during the trial.