Former President Trump on Thursday told the judge overseeing the federally classified criminal case in Florida that the trial should be delayed until after the 2024 election, as part of a pattern of trying to delay criminal trials until he has a chance to win the White House. I requested that it be postponed until further notice.
U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon is expected to announce an updated date at a hearing Friday, with many legal observers expecting the trial to postpone its currently scheduled May 20 start date.
Cannon asked both sides to submit updated proposals ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
“As a front-runner in the 2024 election, President Trump contends that a constitutionally fair trial cannot be conducted this year,” Trump’s lawyers said in a court filing. Stated.
As an alternative, President Trump proposed an August 12 start date, but argued he would not be able to receive a fair trial this year.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who had sought to bring President Trump to trial quickly, has now requested a July 8 start date for the trial.
Mr. Smith has not explicitly linked the need for speed to the upcoming election, but once Mr. Trump takes over the White House, he believes that if he pardons himself or fires Mr. Smith, the prosecution of the two special counsels will be terminated. there is a possibility.
After leaving the White House, Trump was charged with 40 counts of mishandling classified records and attempting to obstruct the government’s recovery of those records. He pleaded not guilty.
Cannon, who was appointed by President Trump, in November rejected the former president’s request to postpone the May trial date. But at that time, the judge announced that he would convene a scheduling conference on March 1st.
As that date nears, President Trump and prosecutors will face a high-stakes showdown that could determine whether the former president stands trial ahead of the 2024 election.
On Friday, Mr. Cannon will face setting a trial date and scheduling remaining pretrial matters, while also juggling Mr. Trump’s other cases, including a hush-money criminal trial that begins in New York.
These issues include several motions by President Trump to dismiss the case on grounds such as presidential immunity and selective prosecution, as well as ongoing disputes over how various classified materials related to the case should be managed. It will be done.
The hearing, which is expected to last into the afternoon, will include hearings in Trump’s Georgia criminal case over whether the district attorney should be disqualified for having a romantic relationship with the top prosecutor in the case. There was a moment when the screen split. Prosecutors argue that calls for his resignation are groundless.
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