Former President Donald Trump’s trial for alleged mishandling of classified documents is facing the possibility of a delay as a judge in Florida considers the issue. The trial, originally scheduled to begin in May, has been postponed due to a legal battle over the evidence that Trump’s legal team will be allowed to review. Prosecutors are pushing for a July 8 start date, while Trump is requesting a date after the election or in August. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to 40 felony charges, is accused of retaining sensitive national security files at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after leaving office and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.
Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira have also been indicted on related charges. As Trump is expected to unofficially secure the Republican nomination for president later this month, he has framed the multiple criminal cases against him as a politically motivated “witch hunt” orchestrated by Democrats to damage his chances of re-election. He has been successful in delaying each case, although his first trial related to payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels is set to begin soon.
In a court filing on Thursday, Trump’s lawyers argued that a fair trial could not be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution. They claimed that a trial before the election would infringe upon Trump’s Sixth Amendment right to be present and participate in the proceedings, as well as his First Amendment right to engage in campaign speech. Some legal experts have criticized Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, for allegedly slowing down the pre-trial process by postponing important deadlines.
Judge Cannon previously hinted at a delay in the original schedule due to a complaint from Trump’s team about the time required to review an extensive amount of unclassified and classified discovery materials. These materials include 1.3 million pages of unclassified documents, 5,500 pages of classified documents, and 60 terabytes of closed-circuit television footage. However, the judge recently ruled in favor of the prosecutors in two significant decisions regarding the evidence that can be presented. She rejected Trump’s request for additional access to classified government filings and determined that Nauta and de Oliveira did not need access to the classified discovery submitted by Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team of prosecutors.
The judge’s decision regarding the rescheduling of the trial will have implications for the timeline of Trump’s other court dates. His trial in New York, concerning hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, is set to begin on March 25 and is expected to last six weeks. His federal case in Washington, related to election interference charges, is currently on hold as the Supreme Court deliberates on Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution. Additionally, a trial in Georgia on similar charges is awaiting a court date.
As the legal battles continue, the outcome of these trials will undoubtedly have significant implications for Trump’s political future and his standing within the Republican Party. The delay in the Florida trial and the subsequent timing of other trials will shape the narrative surrounding Trump’s legal challenges and potentially impact his ability to campaign effectively.
