On Thursday, March 14, a federal judge rejected Donald Trump's request to dismiss a criminal case accusing him of illegally possessing secret documents, reports Reuters.
The ruling by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida came just hours after a hearing in which his lawyers argued that the central charge in the case is improperly vague.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed to her post by Trump, ruled that the question warrants serious consideration but should not be decided at this point.
Case against Trump regarding classified documents
In August 2022, the FBI discovered a series of documents marked secret at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, which he was supposed to turn over to the National Archives after leaving office as President of the US. Trump admitted to having access to a secret document regarding Iran.
On June 9, 2023, the US Attorney's Office charged the former president with 37 counts of improper storage of classified documents. Trump did not admit guilt.
A federal judge scheduled a trial in this case for May 20, 2024.
This is one of four criminal cases facing the Republican leader as he seeks to return to the White House in the US presidential election on November 5 of this year. In total, the politician faces 91 charges.