According to CNN legal analyst Ryan Goodman, a federal judge refused former President Donald Trump’s request to dismiss a federal criminal case against him, which actually resulted in a legal victory for the current GOP frontrunner.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the federal bench by Trump in 2020, denied his request to dismiss the criminal charges filed against him. The charges are related to his alleged retention of government documents after leaving his position as president. Special Counsel Jack Smith claims that Trump deliberately kept classified material after leaving office and obstructed the government’s efforts to recover it.

Goodman talked about the ruling with “Out Front” host Erin Burnett.

“We’ve made the point that the headline seemed that it was a loss for Trump,” the host said. “But when you look underneath it, actually there was a pretty significant victory.”

Goodman responded:

So, his claim is that the classified documents are personal – he could somehow magically make these highly classified documents his own. That’s not what the law says. That’s just ludicrous. So, instead of the judge saying, “Ok, of course that’s ludicrous.” She just said, “I’m not deciding that pretrial. I might let that happen during the trial and maybe that’s what I’ll decide in the midst of the trial. Now, I’ll actually say, ‘Oh, those are your personal documents? I issue a judgment for acquittal.’”

And that’s called Rule 29. She could do it in the middle of the trial and then it’s too late. That is not appealable. So, she’s actually given him kind of a loss here – but not really. I think this is not what Jack Smith wanted to hear. If she had ruled now that these could be his personal documents, then Jack Smith can appeal that and have the 11th Circuit reverse her.

Trump has stated that he has the right to keep the documents he took with him after leaving office under the Presidential Records Act. However, legal experts have criticized this statement, which has also led to a rare contradiction from the National Archives.

Despite this, Cannon has not ruled out the possibility of Trump using the act as a defense in court, although a trial date has not yet been set.