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President Donald Trump can’t stop winning this week, and on Thursday, America First Legal highlighted yet another step forward in Trump’s legal battle in the so-called “classified documents” case.
Per AFL, Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case in Florida, accepted a brief “supporting dismissal of the indictment because it offered ‘considerable help’ in evaluating the merits of the case.”
The AFL X account explained, “AFL raised the novel argument that the National Archives violated the Administrative Procedure Act in referring Trump to the DOJ without following required legal procedures:[.]”
For reference, the amicus brief was filed earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The brief made the following arguments:
- Allegations that the DOJ did not follow procedures set forth in the Presidential Records Act and that NARA did not have the “authority to make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice.”
- The allegation that NARA was “bound to defer to the former President’s rights and privileges yet ignored them.”
- A third allegation that NARA was influenced by the Biden White House and that this directly influenced how NARA’s archivist handled the situation with Trump’s documents.
In summary, “These three arguments signify violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), a law designed to hold agencies accountable for following legislative procedures. If a court finds that the APA was violated, that is a basis for dismissing the indictment.”
Currently, the trial for the “boxes hoax” case is tentatively scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024, right in the middle of election season.
In their overview of their amicus brief, AFL further pointed readers to a previous whitepaper that they published arguing that a U.S. president has “absolute authority over presidential papers.”
A dismissal of the indictment would be another huge potential win for Trump, fresh on the heels of his win at the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of the 14th Amendment.
