Trump moves to dismiss charges accusing him of mishandling classified documents

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges accusing him of illegally holding onto sensitive US national security documents when he left office, arguing the prosecution is legally flawed.

Lawyers for Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, challenged the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith, argued the charges conflict with another US law on the use of presidential records, and claimed the central charge in the case is improperly vague.

Trump also claimed he was immune from charges he unlawfully retained national security documents because the allegations stem from decisions he made in his final weeks as president.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to a 40-count indictment in Florida federal court accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida resort after leaving office in 2021 and obstructing US government attempts to retrieve them.

Prosecutors working with Smith accused Trump of keeping documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that included information about the US nuclear programme and potential domestic vulnerabilities.

Trump sought to conceal boxes containing classified papers after receiving a grand jury subpoena demanding their return, according to the indictment.

Trump has made presidential immunity claims in both federal and state cases accusing him of illegally attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.

A US appeals court in Washington rejected the argument in the federal election case this month, and Trump has appealed the ruling to the US Supreme Court.

Prosecutors in the classified documents case called Trump’s immunity claim “frivolous” in a previous court filing, noting the conduct charged in the indictment all occurred after Trump left the White House.