Former President Donald Trump urged a judge on Friday to pause most of the proceedings in his classified documents case in Florida, arguing that the Supreme Court 's recent decision on presidential immunity must be factored into the case first.
Trump's attorneys said in a court filing that the high court's ruling that presidents enjoy some immunity from criminal prosecution has bearing on Trump's case in Florida and that Trump's defense team should be given time to present arguments on the matter.
They asked Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to pause all proceedings in the case except for a pending dispute over a gag order that special counsel Jack Smith is seeking to impose on Trump.
"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," Trump's attorneys wrote.
The attorneys added that "a partial stay would prevent further exploitation of judicial institutions and resources by Executive Branch personnel in connection with the shameful ongoing lawfare campaign."
Trump's attorneys first raised the issue of presidential immunity in Florida in February, when they moved to dismiss charges that Trump illegally retained national defense information when he left office. The attorneys said Trump made the decision to designate the documents as personal while he was still in office and that presidents are protected from criminal prosecution for that sort of official activity.
Smith's team responded at the time by saying that Trump was not indicted for "any acts that he undertook as President, let alone an official presidential act."
Prosecutors are likely to maintain that stance in the wake of the Supreme Court granting sweeping immunity to presidents for acts they take in their official capacity.
The high court's decision was related to a separate criminal case against Trump in Washington, D.C., but Trump has now moved to argue its relevance in his cases in Florida and New York as well.
The presidential immunity decision "guts [Smith's] position that President Trump has 'no immunity,'" defense attorneys wrote.
They also said Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote a concurring opinion on immunity, bolstered a separate request they made that Trump's case be dismissed on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
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Trump's attorneys wrote that Thomas raised "grave separation of powers concerns" that could be relevant to Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of Smith.
The attorneys said Smith's appointment was also among the "essential questions" that must be answered before the rest of the classified documents case could proceed.
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