On Saturday, Judge Aileen Cannon granted Donald Trump’s motion to pause his classified documents case, following the Supreme Court’s decision in his presidential immunity case.
The Department of Justice has alleged that Trump improperly retained several classified documents after leaving office. Trump has cited the Presidential Records Act in his defense.
“President Donald J. Trump respectfully submits this motion for (I) leave to file supplemental briefing regarding the implications of Trump v. United States for the pending Presidential-immunity motion, ECF No. 324; and (2) a partial stay of further proceedings-with the exception of the pending gag-order motion, ECF No. 592-until President Trump’s motions based on Presidential immunity and the Appointments and Appropriations Clauses are resolved,” the motion from Trump’s defense team reads, as reported by journalist Julie Kelly.
“A partial stay that pauses CIPA and other litigation is warranted based on the reasoning in Trump, and such a stay would be consistent with DOJ policies and practices that the Special Counsel’s Office claims to be bound by but is largely ignoring,” the motion further read. “Resolution of these threshold questions is necessary to minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the Presidency arising from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution. A partial stay is also appropriate to prevent further exploitation of judicial institutions and resources by Executive Branch personnel in connection with the shameful ongoing lawfare campaign.”
Trump has frequently accused President Biden of interfering with his ongoing legal cases. Kelly noted this in her posts on X, writing, “Trump again raises Biden’s inappropriate remarks after SCOTUS opinion as proof the White House in interfering in the case.”
“Trump also accuses DOJ of recently leaking info to media–something Judge Cannon admonished special counsel about when she appointed a special master in 9/22,” she further noted. “I don’t think she will be too happy about this.”
“Pending deadlines that are stayed relate to CIPA litigation and expert disclosures for trial. (Not gag order motion). Cannon set a briefing schedule on immunity matter thru this month. Very likely she’ll set a hearing sometime in August,” she added. “We are still waiting for the hearing on scope of prosecution motion—originally set for last month but delayed due to other more urgent motions.”
“My guess is that hearing will be indefinitely postponed until immunity question is resolved, which is unfortunate bc it addresses collusion btw Biden WH, NARA, and DOJ to concoct a docs case against Trump dating back to spring 2021,” Kelly theorized.
The news comes just days after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents, including Trump, were covered by “absolute” immunity from prosecution for “official acts” made while in office.
“The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion of the highly-contested case. “The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution.”
“The President therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” he added. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party.”
Trump has long-contested that many of the alleged crimes he is being accused of were, in fact, official acts protected by his office, including his alleged attempts “to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud and deceit” to obstruct the electoral vote process, “impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified” and working “against the right to vote and to have that vote counted.”
Special counsel Smith has argued that his efforts are still subject to criminal prosecution, but the Supreme Court’s ruling has cast those claims into doubt. Smith is still prosecuting the former president in the Mar-a-Lago case, in which the DOJ accused him of illegally keeping several classified documents after leaving the White House. That case has also been called into question after it was discovered that the DOJ planted evidence, RTM previously reported.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
