A federal judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s argument that a case accusing the former US president of illegally possessing classified documents should be thrown out because he believed the documents were his personal records rather than government property.

In the latest decision, Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied a motion by Trump’s lawyers to dismiss the case, allowing it to proceed on four counts against Trump One of the criminal indictments.

Trump has argued that his retention of highly sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in 2021 was authorized by U.S. law that allows former presidents to retain personal records unrelated to their official duties.

Prosecutors in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith said the documents deal with U.S. military and intelligence matters, including details about the U.S. nuclear program, and cannot be considered personal documents.

Cannon had expressed doubts during a March 14 court hearing that Trump’s arguments should dismiss the case, but said at the time that the case might have “some persuasiveness” as a defense at trial. On March 18, the judge directed the prosecution and defense to present jury instructions based on two legal scenarios assuming Trump’s arguments would play out at trial.

Smith pushed back against the order, which prosecutors argued was based on a flawed premise that the Presidential Records Act was relevant to whether Trump had the authority to withhold classified documents.

Cannon, Trump’s nominee to the bench, responded to the criticism Thursday, calling her previous order “a genuine attempt to better understand the competing positions of both parties in the context of the upcoming trial.” “.

The judge rejected Smith’s request for her to quickly decide whether the personal documents claim was relevant to the trial, saying a decision at this stage would be “unprecedented and unjust.” Smith said prosecutors would need time to appeal any such ruling.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 federal counts accusing him of illegally retaining sensitive documents and obstructing the U.S. government’s recovery of them. The indictment alleges that Trump discussed the possibility of lying to investigators with his lawyers and hid the records after the government demanded the return of the boxes of records.

Prosecutors said Trump had no authority to retain secret information related to U.S. national security after leaving the White House, even if he treated the records as personal.

Cannon had previously rejected Trump’s offer to drop the central charge against him, which is that he violated a portion of the federal Espionage Act regarding knowingly withholding national security records, as too vague.

Trump has said all four criminal indictments against him are politically motivated, but there are several unresolved challenges in the filing case, including arguments that he has presidential immunity from prosecution and that he was selectively targeted by prosecutors.

The trial is currently scheduled for May 20, but both sides have acknowledged that it will be postponed. Cannon has yet to rule on competing proposals for a new schedule.