The federal judge that is overseeing former United States President Donald Trump's classified documents trial is considering a delay due to a concern that it could "collide" with another federal case.
Judge Aileen M. Cannon did not specify how she plans to change the schedule of the classified docs case. Speaking during a hearing in Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, she added that she would soon issue a written order with the details.
Potential Delay of Classified Docs Trial
Judge Aileen Cannon considering delaying Donald Trump's classified documents trial until at least after the 2024 presidential election.
However, Cannon seemed to be skeptical that the trial date in the documents case, which is set for May 20, could comfortably coexist with Trump's Washington-based trial. The latter are based on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election and it is set to start in early March.
The judge said that she was having a hard time seeing in a realistic way how this work could be accomplished in this compressed time period. Her remarks were made in response to the latest request made by Trump's lawyers to delay the proceedings, as per the New York Times.
The development is part of a pattern in which the former president's legal team has sought to push his trial dates as far back as possible. The Republican businessman has not hidden the fact that he hopes to postpone any legal reckoning until after the 2024 elections.
The efforts could provide Trump with some change if he wins the presidency once more to order the federal charges against him dropped. He could also try to pardon himself in federal cases if he is convicted.
The timing of the former president's criminal trials has added a new layer of logistical complexity to the already fraught legal and political challenges of trying to pursue charges against Trump. They come as he mounts another run for the highest office in the United States.
Trump's lawyers have repeatedly argued that they have not yet had the time to get proper access to classified evidence in the case as they prepare for the May trial. They are asking to have the case postponed until at least mid-November 2024, according to CNN.
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A Series of Legal Challenges
Two weeks ago, they said that they were allowed to review for the first time, after four months of delay, documents that are considered crucial to some of the serious felony charges that special counsel Jack Smith filed.
The classified records indictment against Trump loomed over the former president's candidacy, primarily because of the questions that it raised. The case also has substantial known witnesses and audio evidence about how the Republican businessman treated national security information that could damage the U.S. if accessed at his club.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed to the federal bench in 2020 by Trump himself, said that she would make "reasonable adjustments" to the schedule of the classified documents trial. The situation comes as any delay in the pretrial proceedings could have long-lasting effects that postpone the trial itself.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said that his client's indictment in the election case "completely disrupted everything about the schedule your honor set," said Politico.
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