Former President Donald Trump's legal team has submitted a series of motions to dismiss the classified documents case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
The motions, filed publicly on Thursday night, argue for dismissal based on various grounds, including presidential immunity, the alleged unlawfulness of Smith's appointment as special counsel, and the application of unclear statutes.
One of the primary arguments put forth in the filings is that the charges against Trump should be dismissed due to the vagueness of the statute he was charged with concerning presidents. Additionally, the attorneys raised concerns about the alleged unconstitutionality of special counsel appointments and the interpretation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).
"President Trump's alleged decision to designate records as personal under the PRA and cause them to be removed from the White House—which underlies Counts 1 through 32 of the Superseding Indictment—was an official act by the incumbent president. President Trump is entitled to immunity for this official act and that must include immunity from criminal prosecution," court documents submitted in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, read, as per NBC.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty last June, faces charges of willfully retaining national defense information connected to classified documents found at his Florida estate over a year after leaving office. The charges also accuse him of impeding the government's efforts to retrieve the documents.
The charges also allege that he ordered a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete security video at the property. Co-defendants Walt Nauta, a top aide, and Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance supervisor, have pleaded not guilty to charges linked to efforts to delete security footage.
In a separate development on Thursday, Carlos De Oliveira independently filed a motion seeking the dismissal of his charges.
Earlier this month, Trump's plea of presidential immunity in his federal election interference case was denied by a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals. This case was also brought by special counsel Jack Smith's office.
