(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The judge in the classified documents case against Donald Trump ended a key scheduling hearing on March 1, 2024, without setting a new trial date and, therefore, leaving it unclear if Trump will stand trial for the case this year.
Before the court was adjourned after about four hours, Judge Aileen Cannon heard differing arguments over when the trial should be held by prosecutors working in special counsel Jack Smith’s office and Trump’s lawyers, according to NBC News.
Initially, Cannon scheduled the trial to begin May 20, 2024, but it has been widely expected that she would push it back.
Justice Department prosecutors proposed a July 8, 2024, start date. Trump’s defense team, who initially proposed an Aug. 12, 2024, start date, however, said that it would be “unfair” to hold the trial before the presidential election that will happen in November.
Trump’s lawyers argued a pre-election trial would be logistically difficult because of the other legal cases against him that he faces, adding that the government’s proposed July start date is “completely unworkable” and “an impossibility for the defendant.”
Trump’s lawyers also said that they have to focus on the upcoming trial that’s set to begin March 25, 2024, in New York and is expected to last about six weeks.
His defense team said that the trials should wait until after the Supreme Court rules on his claims of presidential immunity because their ruling could affect how the case proceeds, the news source added.
The trial should be delayed until after a hearing on evidence, which the special counsel’s office disagreed with, the defense lawyers also said.
A post-election trial date was needed because they are still dealing with discovery issues, Stanley Woodward, the lawyer for co-defendant Walt Nauta, a close Trump aide, argued, adding that there is a search warrant for Nauta’s iCloud account and that Sept. 9, 2024, was the earliest possible feasible trial date for his client.
