A federal judge in South Florida scrapped a planned May 20 trial start date in former President Donald Trump’s classified document case — a move that will likely push proceedings back until after the Nov. 5 election.
In a five-page scheduling order handed down Tuesday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon wrote that fixing a trial date at this time “would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions … and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury.”
Lawyers for Trump, 77, and prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith have been bogged down in sniping over issues including what evidence can be used against the 45th president, the rules governing a jury, procedures governing the presentation of classified material as evidence, and more.
Smith had pleaded with Cannon to push the trial back until July 8, one week before the start of the Republican National Convention — at which Trump is expected to be formally nominated for president by the GOP.
Over the weekend, Trump’s team pushed for a delay after discovering that some of the national security documents recovered from the Aug. 8, 2022, federal raid on Mar-a-Lago had shifted out of order since their recovery.
Trump is facing 40 criminal counts for allegedly hoarding sensitive papers after he departed the White House in January 2021 and obstructing federal efforts to recover that material.
The 45th president, the first current or former chief executive to face criminal charges, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
Trump is currently facing trial in Manhattan on a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to two women.
The New York case involves several of the same lawyers representing Trump in the Florida case.
In total, Trump is facing 88 counts spanning four indictments, though it is unlikely any of the other cases reach trial before Election Day.
In a separate case, the Supreme Court is weighing arguments that Trump is immune from federal prosecution in a separate case brought by Smith charging him with unlawfully conspiring to remain in power following his 2020 election loss.
Meanwhile, a 10-count indictment against Trump for alleged 2020 election tampering in Georgia does not yet have a trial start date either.
Trump’s team has aggressively maneuvered to delay as many of his legal proceedings as possible while he mounts his third consecutive presidential bid.
Should Trump succeed in delaying the remainder of his trials until after the election and win back the presidency, he will have the authority to instruct the Justice Department to call off Smith’s prosecutions, an unprecedented intervention by a commander in chief in his own defense.