Topline
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon axed the May 20 trial date for former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case on Tuesday, according to a filing, providing a win for Trump, who has sought to delay all four of his criminal trials past the November election.
Trump is currently in the midst of his hush money trial in New York. (Photo by Win McNamee / POOL / ... [+]
Key Facts
Cannon postponed the case indefinitely, citing the need to “fully and fairly consider” the case’s pre-trial motions, preparations and matters linked to the Classified Information Procedures Act, which ensures protection of classified information in indicted cases.
Cannon’s decision comes a day after she issued a brief pausing a deadline that requires Trump’s legal team to disclose what classified materials they will introduce at trial.
Cannon also established the schedule for the case’s second set of pre-trial matters, which are set to conclude on July 22.
Trump’s lawyers recently argued the case, which accuses Trump of mishandling classified documents and refusing to return them, should be delayed over allegations that Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors botched evidence by moving documents out of order within the boxes the FBI recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, declined to comment.
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Key Background
Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, is facing 40 federal felony charges in the case including willfully retaining national defense information, destroying evidence and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The charges’ punishments range from five to up to 20 years in prison. The trial delay is welcome news for Trump, who has sought to delay his four criminal trials until after the election. If he wins the presidency, he would have the ability to bring in new prosecutors at the Department of Justice who could drop the federal charges against him. However, a trial for Trump’s New York hush money case is already underway, with the former president facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records linked to alleged illegal reimbursement payments he made to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to cover up allegations she and Trump had an affair. Trial dates have still not been set for Trump’s election interference case in Georgia and his federal Jan. 6 case.
Further Reading
Trump May Have Signed Hush Money Checks From White House, Witness Testifies (Forbes)
