Attorneys for former President Donald Trump Chris Kise (C) and Todd Blanche (R) arrive at The Alto Lee Adams Sr. United States Courthouse on July 18, 2023 in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s federal criminal case appeared skeptical Tuesday of the previous president’s argument that the trial over his handling of classified documents needs to be delayed beyond the 2024 election, NBC News reported.
But Judge Aileen Cannon, whom Trump appointed to the federal bench, seemed no warmer toward the Department of Justice’s position that the trial should begin in mid-December.
“I can appreciate more time is essential, but some deadlines can clearly be established now,” Cannon said, NBC reported.
The hearing ended and not using a ruling. However the judge appeared to brush aside certain arguments, especially one recommend by a defense attorney who argued that Trump wouldn’t give you the option to get a good jury to listen to his case while he stays a top presidential candidate, in line with NBC’s Ken Dilanian. Trump is the clear frontrunner within the Republican primary field.
The Tuesday afternoon proceeding marked the primary pretrial hearing within the unprecedented federal criminal case against the previous president and his aide, Walt Nauta.
Walt Nauta, personal aide to former U.S. President Donald Trump, exits Fort Pierce U.S. courthouse after a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, July 18, 2023.
Maria Alejandra Cardona | Reuters
Trump faces 37 criminal counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Essentially the most serious charges against him carry 20-year maximum prison terms. He pleaded not guilty to all of the counts on June 13. Nauta, Trump’s valet and co-defendant, pleaded not guilty earlier this month to 6 criminal charges.
The hearing took place in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, before Cannon, who had presided over a separate legal dispute related to the classified documents that the FBI had seized from Mar-a-Lago.
She drew criticism from legal experts in that matter when she granted Trump’s request to appoint an independent official to review the seized records, temporarily halting the DOJ’s investigation.
Tuesday’s hearing was originally scheduled with the intention to address how the sensitive classified information at the middle of the case will likely be handled. But on Monday, Cannon told the parties to be prepared to debate their proposals for when the trial should start.
Prosecutor Jay Bratt said within the hearing that they’ve to this point produced 1.1 million pages of documents as a part of the evidence-sharing process generally known as discovery. That total includes 1,545 pages of classified discovery, Bratt said, in line with NBC.
The DOJ also pushed back on the notion that Trump’s status as a former president, and current presidential candidate, requires that he be treated otherwise, NBC reported. Prosecutor David Harbagh argued that courts have for generations relied on mechanisms that help them pick juries fairly, regardless of the celebrity or status of the defendant.
Of their bid to push the trial date back, Trump’s attorneys said they’ve mountains of knowledge to review, including greater than three years’ price of surveillance video footage — a few of which still has not even been uploaded.
Additionally they argued that the case is removed from normal, partially because Trump is being prosecuted by the administration of President Joe Biden, his possible opponent within the 2024 election, NBC reported.
