Donald Trump’s lawyers want to delay his trial in the classified doc case for an undetermined amount of time and suggest the case might not be ready until after the 2024 presidential election.
The former president’s lawyers asked the Florida judge late Monday night to give them more time before his trial on allegations of mishandling the docs, arguing the unprecedented case requires ‘a measured consideration and timeline.’
An initial trial date was set by Judge Aileen Cannon of August 14. Prosecutors then asked for that date to be pushed to December to give Trump’s legal team the time needed to get the required security clearances.
On Monday, Trump’s team responded to the prosecutor’s December request and said it was too soon.
‘While the Government appears to favor an expedited (and therefore cursory) approach to this case, it cannot point to any exigency or urgency requiring a rapid adjudication,’ the legal team wrote.
‘There is no ongoing threat to national security interests nor any concern regarding continued criminal activity.
‘By contrast, Defense counsel submits that the Court’s paramount concern must be that Defendants receive a fair trial, which requires adequate time to prepare a defense.’
Donald Trump, seen on Saturday, has asked for his trial on charges of mishandling classified documents be pushed back, potentially until after the election
The 77-year-old faces 37 felony counts related to obstruction of justice and sharing state secrets
Trump was charged in June with felonies in connection to the classified document case. It was the first time a former president had been federally charged by prosecutors.
Investigators alleged Trump had thousands of pages of classified documents at his Florida Mar-a-Lago home. Photos released by the prosecution show piles of documents in boxes throughout Trump’s home.
Trump – who is running for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election – has called the case political persecution and emphatically said he is innocent.
‘Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxist, communists and fascists indict me, I consider it a great badge of courage,’ Trump said at a June conference.
He was arraigned in a Florida federal court in a historic hearing as Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.
‘Some birthday,’ he grumbled at a brief stop in Miami’s Versailles Restaurant moments after leaving the federal courthouse on June 14 . ‘We got a government that’s out of control.’
Trump – who is running for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election – has called the case political persecution and emphatically said he is innocent.
It’s not the first proposed delay in the classified doc case. Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet and co-defendant in the case, pleaded not guilty to the six counts against him on July 6, because his arraignment was twice delayed.
Nauta was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding and corruptly concealing documents, and making false representations.
Nauta had struggled to find legal representation in Florida, which sparked the delays, but Jack Smith – the special counsel who is overseeing the prosecution – on Monday accused Nauta of creating unnecessary delays.
‘An indefinite continuance is unnecessary, will inject additional delay in this case, and is contrary to the public interest,’ Smith wrote.
Smith and his team are yet to respond to Trump’s request for a delay.
Smith has previously said he hoped for a swift trial, but Trump’s team said there was no reason for haste.
In their Monday filing, Trump’s team said the interests of justice were best served by a delay.
‘This extraordinary case presents a serious challenge to both the fact and perception of our American democracy,’ the lawyers wrote.
‘The Court now presides over a prosecution advanced by the administration of a sitting President against his chief political rival, himself a leading candidate for the Presidency of the United States.
‘Therefore, a measured consideration and timeline that allows for a careful and complete review of the procedures that led to this indictment and the unprecedented legal issues presented herein best serves the interests of the Defendants and the public.
‘Thus, based on the extraordinary nature of this action, there is most assuredly no reason for any expedited trial, and the ends of justice are best served by a continuance.’
Jack Smith, the special counsel for the investigation, is pictured on June 9 explaining the charges
Trump’s lawyers say they need more time to deal with the volume of material involved in the case, and give a sense of the scale of Smith’s team’s research.
Prosecutors have handed over 833,450 pages of documents, consisting of approximately 122,650 emails and 305,670 documents gathered from over 90 people.
They have also given Trump’s team 57 terabytes of compressed raw CCTV footage, and said there could be more documents and video coming.
Trump’s team said they were unable, as is standard procedure, to outsource the review of some of the material, given the required security clearances.
‘From a practical matter, the volume of discovery and the CIPA logistics alone make plain that the Government’s requested schedule is unrealistic,’ they argue.
Trump’s lawyers emphasize that some of the charges have never been tested before in court, and stressed that Trump and his team expect them to be dropped.
The lawyers argue that the court needs to address ‘the potential inability to select an impartial jury during a national Presidential election’.
And they say a speedy trial is not practical.
‘The Government’s apparent view that these unprecedented issues should be adjudicated on an expedited basis is simply untenable and ignores the magnitude of this case,’ the motion states.
The lawyers point out that they are all involved in defending Trump in other cases, in New York.
They do not suggest a new date.
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