Breaking: Judge Will Delay Trump's Classified Documents Trial - Report
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon reportedly will delay the start date of former President Donald Trump’s classified document case being brought forth by special counsel Jack Smith.
Journalist Julie Kelly, who covered the pre-trial hearing in Miami this week, posted on X, “As expected, Judge Cannon will delay the trial schedule in Jack Smith’s classified documents case against Trump.”
She posted an announcement from the court Friday stating “pre-trial deadlines temporarily stayed pending order to follow.”
BREAKING: As expected, Judge Cannon will delay the trial schedule in Jack Smith’s classified documents case against Trump. Details to follow pic.twitter.com/NLuZjF7ckG
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 3, 2023
On Wednesday, Kelly had noted the May 20, 2024, start date may get pushed back.
“Just left classified docs case hearing in Judge Cannon courtroom,” she wrote. “She will consider a modified trial schedule given numerous issues including voluminous discovery, discovery delays, late delivery of secure location to review evidence and Trump’s conflicting trial schedules.”
NEW: Just left classified docs case hearing in Judge Cannon courtroom. She will consider a modified trial schedule given numerous issues including voluminous discovery, discovery delays, late delivery of secure location to review evidence and Trump’s conflicting trial schedules.
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 1, 2023
Cannon told the attorneys, “I’m just having a hard time seeing how realistically this work can be accomplished in this compressed period of time, given the realities that we’re facing,” according to Politico.
Trump’s legal team wants the trial delayed until after next year’s November election.
“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,” the lawyers wrote in a July court filing.
On Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers told Cannon that preparing for the special counsel’s election interference case, scheduled to begin in Washington in March, would get in the way of prepping for the documents case in May.
The election interference trial could go on for months, the lawyers argued, bumping right into the documents case in May if the current start date stands.
Altogether, Trump is facing 91 felony indictments brought by Smith as well as Democratic prosecutors in New York City and Fulton County, Georgia.
Kelly posted on X regarding the expected trial delay, “You will see much caterwauling by corporate media types and usual suspects like [Andrew] Weissmann and [Barb] McQuade how Cannon is doing Trump’s bidding.”
“But the blame lies SOLELY at the feet of DOJ. Jack Smith brought 2 unprecedented federal cases against a former president within two months of each other,” she added.
“He asked for, and was granted, an expedited trial schedule in D.C. Judge [Tanya] Chutkan gave Trump 7 months to prepare for trial–the typical J6 case goes to trial over a year after indictment.”
Chutkan, an Obama appointee, is overseeing the election interference case against Trump.
I’ll have a column explaining it all after order is filed.
You will see much caterwauling by corporate media types and usual suspects like Weissmann and McQuade how Cannon is doing Trump’s bidding.
But the blame lies SOLELY at the feet of DOJ. Jack Smith brought 2 unprecedented…
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 3, 2023
Weissmann and McQuade are MSNBC legal analysts, who Kelly is saying will attack Cannon because she was appointed to the federal bench by Trump in 2020.
Weissmann was a federal prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe looking into allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. He had contributed to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Kelly explained additional reasons Cannon will apparently delay the trial writing, “The classified docs trial represents major obstacles to defense (Trump and 2 co-defendants) as they attempt to view classified discovery in a Miami SCIF the government just set up on October 18. All attorneys had to obtain security clearances.”
“Discovery is voluminous–1.3 million pages of unclassified, 5,500 pages of classified, and years’ worth of security footage from Trump’s properties,” she continued.
“Further, Smith brought a superseding indictment in classified docs case several weeks after June indictment was handed down, adding another defendant and more charges against Trump. Smith is playing games–Chutkan lets him, Cannon doesn’t,” Kelly concluded.
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