On Friday, former President Donald Trump requested a federal judge to dismiss his case involving classified documents. He claimed that the FBI had “destroyed exculpatory evidence” during their raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In a recent filing, Trump’s defense team argued that the FBI agents who conducted the raid at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 had mishandled the documentation of evidence. They further claimed that this mishandling of evidence could have been used to challenge the government’s accusation that the former president was aware of possessing classified records. The filing was made late on Monday and was announced by Trump’s campaign on Tuesday.
According to the filing by Trump’s defense, the government’s priority seemed to be focused on creating and sharing doctored photographs with the media rather than safeguarding crucial evidence that could have cleared the accused. As per the defense, the evidence has now been lost permanently due to this negligence.
In the ongoing legal battle, Trump has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to a total of 41 counts. The charges relate to the alleged retention of classified documents and obstruction of the federal investigation. According to prosecutors, Trump is accused of unlawfully holding onto the documents even after his tenure at the White House had ended, and failing to surrender them upon request, which ultimately led to the FBI raiding his Mar-a-Lago estate.
During the raid, the FBI confiscated numerous boxes that contained classified documents and personal belongings. On Tuesday, Trump’s defense accused the agents of failing to maintain the order in which the items were seized and not properly documenting the location where they were confiscated from.
According to his lawyers, it is unclear whether the boxes in question contained documents like newspapers and letters that predate Trump’s presidency, as well as sensitive information. They argue that this information could have been highly valuable for the defense in demonstrating how long the allegedly classified documents had been stored in those boxes.
According to the filing, the documents that were supposedly classified were found intermixed with President Trump’s personal belongings from his first term in office. This discovery strongly supports the defense’s argument that he had no knowledge or intention to commit any crime regarding the said documents.
This argument could have been further strengthened if there was any proximity found between the allegedly classified documents and other materials such as letters and newspapers from years before the move.
During the court case, Trump’s team had previously raised these claims. The former president was charged by special counsel Jack Smith, who also acknowledged the possibility of discrepancies between the time when the documents were seized from Mar-a-Lago and the time when they were scanned to generate inventories of the evidence.
According to a filing made in May by Smith, some boxes contain items that are not in the same order as their associated scans. The reason for this discrepancy is due to the timing of when the boxes were accessed, as well as the size and shape of the items within them.
According to him, the boxes are filled with items that are smaller than standard paper, including index cards, books, and stationary. These items tend to shift around easily when the boxes are carried, particularly due to the fact that many of the boxes are not completely full.
In the case, Walt Nauta, who used to be Trump’s former valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, a former Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker, are co-defendants.
On Monday, the filing was made after District Judge Aileen Cannon denied Trump’s plea to dismiss multiple charges in the case.
Although she declined the proposal, she did eliminate one paragraph from the indictment due to its prejudicial nature.
Trump’s lawyers have requested Judge Cannon to dismiss all evidence obtained in the Mar-a-Lago raid in their submitted filing on Monday.
