Judge in Trump Documents Case Rejects Special Counsel's Plea
Federal district court Judge Aileen Cannon agreed Tuesday to delay a hearing regarding former President Donald Trump’s classified documents mishandling case.
A preliminary hearing in the case involving both Trump and his valet Walt Nauta was originally scheduled for this Friday, but the judge allowed it to be rescheduled for July 18, ABC News reported.
“Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, had requested the delay due to a timing conflict with a bench trial he has to attend as defense counsel for a defendant charged in the Justice Department’s investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack,” the news outlet said.
Jay Bratt, the top federal prosecutor from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office overseeing the case, opposed the delay.
“There is a strong public interest in the conference occurring as originally scheduled and the case proceeding as expeditiously as possible,” Bratt said in his filing, according to ABC News.
Judge Aileen Cannon grants ‘unnecessary’ delay in Trump documents case https://t.co/d3Zx1FqI8H
— Thomas Kaine (@thomaskaine5) July 11, 2023
Cannon’s decision comes after a Monday night court filing by Trump’s attorneys seeking a delay in the trial itself until after the 2024 election.
Smith argued in a legal brief that he wants the trial in December because the case “involves straightforward theories of liability, and does not present novel questions of fact or law,” The Washington Post reported.
Trump pleaded “not guilty” last month to all 37 counts in the DOJ’s 49-page indictment.
Trump’s lawyers argued in their brief the DOJ’s case involves untested legal questions regarding their client’s right to retain documents under the Presidential Records Act.
The attorneys also pointed to the difficulty of seating an unbiased jury when the defendant is a candidate for president.
“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.
“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,” they added.
Further, the attorneys pointed out the lengthy pre-trial discovery required due to the sheer volume of documents involved in the case, including those marked classified.
Following his indictment in a Miami federal court last month, Trump accused President Joe Biden of using his administration’s Justice Department to target his chief political foe heading into the 2024 election, based on current polling.
“A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty, right in the middle of a presidential election in which he is losing very badly,” Trump said.
He added, “This is called election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election. More importantly, it’s a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.”
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