Judge refuses Trump's attempt to have classified documents case dismissed

The judge overseeing a case accusing Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents on Thursday rejected the former president's attempt to have the case dismissed, arguing that the papers were deemed personal under the Presidential Records Act.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon noted that the charges Trump was trying to dismiss did not mention the Presidential Records Act or rely on it to establish an offense.

"For these reasons, accepting the allegations of the Superseding Indictment as true, the Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss," the judge wrote, raising the possibility the defense could be used later on.

Previously, Cannon had asked both parties to address whether the national security documents could be considered personal in potential jury instructions. Special counsel Jack Smith's office argued against this, calling the argument "fundamentally flawed." In her ruling on Thursday, the judge described Smith's insistence that she make a decision on the matter immediately as "unprecedented and unjust."