Trump team argues recent SCOTUS decision affects documents case

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys argued Friday in a court filing that prosecutors could not use Trump’s official acts while president as evidence to support allegations that he mishandled classified documents. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled in Trump v. U.S. that presidents have absolute immunity for their official acts in office. Trump previously denied any wrongdoing regarding his handling of the documents, saying he exercised his presidential authority to declassify the papers before he left office.

Did the filing contain any other arguments? Trump’s attorneys also argued that the Justice Department had improperly funded special counsel Jack Smith’s office. The attorneys cited Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence in the recent Supreme Court’s opinion. Thomas suggested that the Justice Department, in his view, did not follow the proper legal procedure for funding Smith’s investigation into the former president.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta and Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about the Supreme Court’s new theory of presidential immunity after Monday’s ruling.