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The Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump's federal criminal case, involving allegations of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving the White House, denied the former president's bid Thursday for a hearing on the validity of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant.

Judge Denies Trump's Bid To Toss Mar-A-Lago Warrant : No Substantial Preliminary Showing

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said there wasn't a "substantial preliminary showing" the warrant affidavit contained false information. In an order filed in Fort Pierce, Florida, federal court, Judge Cannon denied Trump's request for a Franks hearing to determine if the search warrant affidavit contained intentionally misleading or false information. She emphasized that courts are directed to give "great deference" to a magistrate judge's determination of probable cause and that affidavits are "presumptively valid."

"Defendant Trump has not made the requisite 'substantial preliminary showing' to warrant a Franks hearing," Judge Cannon said. "He identifies four omissions in the warrant, but none of the omitted information — even if added to the affidavit in support of the warrant — would have defeated a finding of probable cause."

Judge Denies Trump's Bid To Toss Mar-A-Lago Warrant : The Indictment

Trump, his personal aide Walt Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira, property manager at the Mar-a-Lago estate, were hit with federal charges in a July 2023 superseding indictment. They are accused of a conspiracy to obstruct the investigation into whether the former president illegally retained classified national security documents after leaving the White House in 2021. All three men have pled not guilty to the charges.

Alleged Omissions and Misrepresentations

Emil Bove of Blanche Law, Trump's attorney, argued before the judge in Fort Pierce on Tuesday that government officials misled U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in their affidavit to get a Mar-a-Lago search warrant in 2022. Bove claimed that U.S. Department of Justice officials either omitted or misrepresented four critical pieces of information. These included that Steven M. D'Antuono, then assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington field office, believed it was appropriate to seek consent for a search first.

Additional omissions included a definition of "personal records" under the Presidential Records Act, failure to disclose that Trump had previously received classified information during sensitive briefings at Mar-a-Lago while he was president, and a misrepresentation that the FBI coordinated with the National Archives and Records Administration before a referral letter was sent to the DOJ, according to the order.

Judge Denies Trump's Bid To Toss Mar-A-Lago Warrant : Judge's Decision

The judge, however, didn't agree with the special counsel's opposition to an evidentiary hearing for Trump's motion to suppress evidence.

"The special counsel vigorously opposes any further factual development on defendant Trump's motion to suppress — both in the context of his challenge to the crime-fraud exception to presumptively privileged attorney-client communications, and also with respect to defendant Trump's particularity challenge to Attachment B to the search warrant," Judge Cannon said, adding that the court reserves ruling on Trump's motion to suppress for insufficient particularity and unlawful piercing of attorney-client privilege.

Reactions and Representation

Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

The government is represented by Jay Bratt, David Harbach, John M. Pellettieri, Michael Thakur, and Jack Smith of the special counsel's office. Trump is represented by Chris Kise and Lazaro Fields of Continental PLLC, Emil Bove, Stephen Weiss, and Todd Blanche of Blanche Law, and Kendra L. Wharton of Wharton Law PLLC. Nauta is represented by Sasha Dadan of Dadan Law Firm PLLC and Stanley Woodward of Brand Woodward Law LP. De Oliveira is represented by Larry Murrell of Murrell PA and John Irving of E&W Law.