A federal judge overseeing the prosecution of Donald Trump on charges related to retaining classified documents has decided to remove a paragraph from the indictment.
This paragraph detailed an incident in which Trump allegedly displayed a classified document at his Bedminster club in New Jersey.
On Monday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to strike the paragraph, reasoning that it would be unfairly prejudicial for a jury to see it, especially since Trump was not charged with a crime for that specific conduct.
This ruling by Judge Cannon is significant as it may foreshadow her approach to future motions by Trump aimed at suppressing evidence.
Trump’s legal strategy appears to be focused on limiting the scope of evidence that prosecutors can present, potentially weakening their case against him.
Legal experts noted that the decision to expunge the paragraph was unusual. Cannon based her ruling on a federal rule that typically prohibits the use of “other crimes” evidence to suggest a defendant’s bad character.
However, this rule does allow for such evidence if it proves motive. Prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, argued that the paragraph was included under this provision. Nonetheless, Cannon objected because Trump had not been charged for the behavior described.
The controversial paragraph, known as paragraph 36, described an incident where Trump allegedly displayed a classified map of Afghanistan while criticizing the US withdrawal to Susie Wiles, now his 2024 presidential campaign chief.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the paragraph stated:
“In August or September 2021, when he was no longer president, Trump met in his office at The Bedminster Club with a representative of his political action committee (the ‘PAC Representative’).
During the meeting, Trump commented that an ongoing military operation was not going well.
Trump showed the PAC Representative a classified map of Country B and told the PAC Representative that he should not be showing the map to the PAC Representative and to not get too close.
The PAC Representative did not have a security clearance or any need-to-know classified information about the military operation.”
Judge Cannon’s decision to strike this passage was part of a broader 14-page ruling.
While she denied Trump’s request to dismiss the obstruction counts, she emphasized that his complaints were factual matters to be addressed during his defense at trial, rather than legal issues that could warrant a pre-trial dismissal of the indictment.
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