Donald Trump reveals defense strategy for his classified documents federal case: Report

Former President Donald Trump will face several of his cases at trial this year, including the Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents case.

According to the Daily Mail, the trial for that case is set to begin on May 20, and Trump revealed his legal defense strategy this week, insistent that the case is nothing more than a weaponization of the justice system in an attempt to hamstring his 2024 presidential campaign.

The outlet noted that Trump's lawyers appear to be set on arguing that U.S. intelligence agencies purposely targeted the former president, according to recent court filings.

The Daily Mail noted:

Lawyers for Trump said in a motion filed Tuesday that they will dispute prosecutors' allegations that the estate where the records were stored was not secure, in a case Trump has demanded be pushed to after the election.

Trump's lawyers believe the case is "politically motivated and biased," and have moved to obtain communications "between Smith's team and associates of President Joe Biden" to prove that's the case.

The court papers gave the clearest picture yet of the scorched earth legal strategy that Donald Trump is apparently planning to use in fighting the classified documents indictment handed up over the summer. https://t.co/Mn3GtbFZ50

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) January 17, 2024

The brief filed by Trump's legal defense team, which asks the judge to approve the turnover of a "trove" of documents from Special Counsel Jack Smith, is the most expansive inside look at his team's legal strategy, to date.

Trump's attorneys wrote, "The Special Counsel's Office has disregarded basic discovery obligations and DOJ policies in an effort to support the Biden Administration's egregious efforts to weaponize the criminal justice system in pursuit of an objective that President Biden cannot achieve on the campaign trail: slowing down President Trump's leading campaign in the 2024 presidential election."

Smith's prosecutors will undoubtedly contest the request for such information, presumably arguing that the documents are irrelevant to the case.

Trump's lawyers will also reportedly defend the storage of the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and will argue that the boxes of documents and materials were properly secured.

Special Counsel Smith and his prosecutors have asked for a speedy trial, but Trump's lawyers argue the opposite, given the gravity of the situation -- not to mention he's the leading GOP presidential candidate and the multitude of other cases they're handling.

"The Government's apparent view that these unprecedented issues should be adjudicated on an expedited basis is simply untenable and ignores the magnitude of this case," Trump's attorneys wrote.

Many Republican members of Congress and legal experts believe that the federal classified documents case against Trump is weak and appears to be politically motivated.

Only time will tell if Trump's lawyers can pull out a much-needed victory.