The judge overseeing the case involving former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents declined a request to delay his trial, but said she would consider the issue again in several months.
The federal judge overseeing the case involving former President Donald Trump’s handling of sensitive government records declined for now to postpone his trial until after the November 2024 presidential election, but said she would revisit the issue in several months.
The 9-page decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon maintains the May 2024 trial date she scheduled over the summer. But she said she will consider the matter again at a conference set to take place on March 1 after proceedings to determine how classified information will be used in the case.
If the original trial date stands, it would take place weeks before Republicans formally select their nominee for the presidential election.
Last month, Trump’s lawyers to delay the trial until after the Nov. 5 election, citing in part ongoing proceedings in a separate case against Trump brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C. The documents case is being handled in federal court in South Florida.
In the D.C. case, prosecutors with four counts related to alleged efforts to prevent the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election. He has to all charges in both cases.
The trial in the election-related case is March 4, and Trump’s lawyers had argued that those proceedings and the schedule set in the South Florida case required him and his defense team «to be in two places at once.» The former president’s legal team told Cannon in a filing that the deadlines set in July were «unworkable.»The judge’s order
In her order Friday, Cannon said it is «most prudent, given the evolving complexities» of the case to adjust the first batch of deadlines for pretrial matters, but said Trump’s request to postpone the trial date is «premature.»
Cannon acknowledged the other criminal proceedings that Trump is involved in, including a criminal case brought by the Manhattan district attorney.
