Judge in Trump Documents Case Sets Tentative Trial Date in August
The federal judge presiding over the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump in the classified documents case set an aggressive schedule on Tuesday, ordering that a trial begin as early as August 14.
While the timeline set by judge, Aileen M. Cannon, is likely to be delayed by extensive pre-trial litigation — including on how to handle classified material — the fast pace suggests the judge is trying to avoid any criticism for dragging along with her feet or for slow walking the procedure.
The early steps of Judge Cannon, a relatively inexperienced lawyer appointed by Mr Trump, are particularly closely watched. She disrupted the documents search last year with several rulings favorable to the former president before a conservative appeals court overturned her, saying she never had the legitimate legal authority to intervene.
Brandon L. Van Grack, a former federal prosecutor who has worked on complex criminal cases involving national security, said the trial date was “unlikely” as the process of turning classified evidence over to the defense for discovery was still pending. had not started. Still, he said, Judge Cannon seemed to show that she intended to do what she could to bring the case to trial quickly.
“It indicates that the court is in any case trying to do everything possible to move the case forward and that it is important that the case proceeds quickly,” said Van Grack. “While it is unlikely to hold up, it is at least a positive signal – positive in the sense that all parties and the public should want this matter resolved as quickly as possible.”
But it’s not clear the defense wants the case to move quickly. Mr. Trump’s strategy in legal matters has long been to delay them, and the federal case against him is likely to be no exception. If a trial drags on past the 2024 election and Mr. Trump wins the race, he could theoretically try to pardon himself — or order his attorney general to drop the charges and clear the case.
In public remarks after the indictment against Mr. Trump and his one of his aides, Walt Nauta, was filed two weeks ago in the Federal District Court in Miami, the special counsel, Jack Smith, who oversaw the investigation, said he wanted a quick process. .
The schedule set out by Judge Cannon in her order Tuesday clearly does so, calling for all preliminary motions to be filed by July 24.
She also ruled that the trial — and all hearings in the case — will be held at her own courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, a small town in the northern part of Florida’s Southern District. Mr Trump’s arraignment took place at the federal courthouse in Miami.
It is very unlikely that the preliminary investigation into the case will take place in August. Legal experts have identified a series of complicated cases that Judge Cannon, the defense and the prosecution will have to solve before the case is ready to go before a jury.
For starters, Mr. Trump’s lawyers, under Judge Cannon’s order, only last week began obtaining the security clearances necessary to address the important classified evidence issues in the case. The background check process to get the approvals can itself take months.
Mr. Trump’s legal team is also still on the move. Mr. Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward Jr., is still interviewing Florida attorneys to assist him in the case. He expects to have someone in place when Mr. Nauta is arraigned next week.
Aside from the array of legal tactics Mr Trump’s lawyers can use to challenge the validity of the charges against him, the parties to the case will also have to engage in significant behind closed door litigation over how to deal with the classified evidence central to the case. government persecution. Mr. Trump has been accused of illegally holding 31 individual national defense documents, many of which were marked top secret.
Many of the classified lawsuits will take place under the auspices of the Classified Information Procedures Act. If the government disagrees with any of Judge Cannon’s rulings regarding the law, it can suspend the pretrial investigation and appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. (The defense would have to wait until after a conviction to appeal a point of evidence under the law.)
Mr Trump’s lawyers are expected to file a series of motions for the trial, including one claiming he will be selectively prosecuted, while other public officials under investigation for mishandling classified material – chief among them, Hillary Clinton – have not been charged.
The former president’s legal team can also file motions to charge prosecutors with various types of wrongdoing or suppress audio recordings of one of his lawyers.
Depending on how seriously Judge Cannon takes the allegations in those documents, she may order additional instructions, depositions and hearings, further delaying the process.
The provisional court calendar underscores how Mr. Trump’s decision to continue with his political campaign, now a key part of his defense, could affect the wider presidential primaries. The first Republican primary debate is scheduled for August 23 in Milwaukee. Mr Trump has not said whether he will attend and has indicated he could skip the first two presidential debates.
The second debate is scheduled for September and one debate per month is expected to take place until the end of the year. Depending on the court calendar, Mr. Trump’s political plans may again coincide with court dates.
Moreover, this is not Mr Trump’s only lawsuit. His trial in a Manhattan court, charged with paying hush money to a porn actress during the 2016 campaign, begins in March. A second defamation lawsuit brought by a New York writer who claimed Trump raped her decades ago is set to begin in January.
Mr. Trump also faces the prospect of at least one more indictment. Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, may file charges related to his attempts to stay in office. Mr Smith, the special counsel, is also still investigating issues related to Mr Trump’s attempts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election.