Trump in court: Federal judge poised to delay start of classified documents trial again
FORT PIERCE — The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's classified documents case is poised to delay his trial yet again, following repeated setbacks and a push from prosecutors and defense attorneys to scrap its current start date.
Prosecutors suggested moving the trial from May 20 to July 8. That date falls before the Republican National Convention, where many expect the party will once again name Trump its nominee for president, and likely after the Supreme Court rules on his claim of immunity during his term in office.
Trump’s lawyers renewed their push to delay the trial until after the presidential election, calling an earlier date “unfair to the American people and Donald Trump.”
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did not set a new trial date after a public hearing Friday — the first in the case attended by Trump — but suggested that the special counsel’s proposed timetable was “unrealistic.”
It remains to be seen which of the competing schedules she adopts, or whether she sets one of her own. Cannon adjourned the hearing at 3 p.m. without indicating when she planned to issue an order.
Adding to the challenge are the colliding timetables of three other criminal cases facing Trump: the election subversion case in Georgia; one in New York involving allegations of falsifying business records; and the election interference case in Washington, D.C.
Trump sat quietly throughout Friday's hearing, at times conferring with his attorney, Todd Blanche. Special Counsel Jack Smith was also present, as were Trump’s two co-codefendants in the case, valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.
All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Prosecutors say they conspired with one another to hide boxes of classified documents, some containing military and intelligence secrets, at Trump's Palm Beach estate after he left the White House in 2021.
About 15 reporters and three members of the public, all of whom were Trump supporters, were allowed inside the courtroom Friday. Deputies forbade a man named Bob Burka from wearing his red "Make America Great Again" hat, so he rested it on his knee instead.
Burka waved it at Trump once the court adjourned for lunch. Trump didn't appear to notice.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump documents case: Judge poised to delay trial's start date again
