Senior US District Judge Roger Vinson acquitted Charles of the charges, adding that even if the drafted letters and documents used as evidence contained falsehoods regarding the sale of the tusks, the proposed sale had been aborted at the time these documents were drafted and the prosecution's evidence did not refute Charles' claim that he intended to donate them to a museum. In his written ruling on the case, Vinson also ruled that Charles was not violating any CITES regulations and "the attempted sale of the defendant's [Charles'] hunting trophy was not a crime." The Justice Department still considers the case a warning for the ivory trade.