By Ari Blaff
The federal judge overseeing the case involving Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents has set a trial date for May 2024.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed justice, rejected the former president’s plea to postpone the trial until after the upcoming presidential election. She also rejected the Department of Justice’s request to begin in December.
“The Government’s proposed schedule is atypically accelerated and inconsistent with ensuring a fair trial,” Cannon wrote.
Last Monday, attorneys representing the former president wrote to Judge Cannon asking for the trial to be held after the 2024 presidential election for fear of biasing the jury.
“Proceeding to trial during the pendency of a Presidential election cycle wherein opposing candidates are effectively (if not literally) directly adverse to one another in this action will create extraordinary challenges in the jury selection process and limit the Defendants’ ability to secure a fair and impartial adjudication,” Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, the former president’s attorneys, wrote in a court filing published Monday night.
“Here, there is simply no question any trial of this action during the pendency of a Presidential election will impact both the outcome of that election and, importantly, the ability of the Defendants to obtain a fair trial,” the two added.
In mid June, Trump pled not guilty in a Miami federal court to all 37 felony counts concerning his alleged mishandling of classified documents. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” Blanche told the court at the time.
In the coming months the two parties are expected to begin wrangling over the declassification of various documents that will serve as evidence in the case and will therefore be produced in various states of redaction during the discovery process.
The former president has maintained that he is the victim of “political persecution.”
“I want to go through the boxes and get my personal things out. I don’t want to hand that over to [the National Archives and Records Administration] yet,” Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier in June. “And I was very busy as you’ve sort of seen.” Asked whether he is concerned about the looming trial, Trump said: “Based on the law, zero.”
Among the charges, the former president faces are willful retention of national-defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and making false statements and representations.
In early July, Trump’s aide, Will Nauta – a co-defendant in the case represented by Trump’s legal team – also pled not guilty to several counts of mishandling classified material and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The trial will be held in Fort Pierce, Fla. Potential jurors will be selected from the counties nearest the courthouse.
Initially, Judge Cannon set the trial date for August 14, with all parties needing to file pre-trial motions by July 24.
