Judge sets Aug. 14 trial date for Trump documents case | The Hill
Category: News & Politics
Via: evilgenius • last year • 25 commentsBy: Brett Samuels and Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
by Brett Samuels and Rebecca Beitsch - 06/20/23 8:50 AM ET
A Florida judge has set an initial Aug. 14 trial date for former President Trump in the Justice Department's (DOJ) case over his retention of classified documents.
Judge Aileen Cannon set the preliminary trial date for roughly two months after Trump's arraignment at her courtroom in Fort Pierce, Fla. The judge said in a Tuesday filing that all pre-trial motions must be filed by July 24.
Trump and his team are expected to push to delay the trial through those motions, however, making it unlikely that the Aug. 14 date will hold.
Trump pleaded not guilty last Tuesday to charges on 37 counts following a DOJ indictment alleging he violated both the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them. He is also facing charges for concealing documents and misleading investigators.
Special counsel Jack Smith has said Trump's trial could be completed in as little as 21 days.
But Trump — known for successfully delaying numerous prior civil suits — has a number of options for time-eating challenges in the case.
The classified documents at issue in the case ignite a separate discovery process under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), including a requirement under Section 5 of the law that requires Trump's team to give a preview of their defense.
"Trump's team will likely argue that the CIPA Section 5 notice requirement is unconstitutional, because it requires them to give some sort of notice of their defense to the government. That argument has been resoundingly rejected by the courts, but it will still be made by the Trump team," Brian Greer, a former CIA attorney, previously told The Hill.
Another likely battle is whether the prosecution can use the silent witness rule — a method of having experts testify in broad strokes about the classified records so that they can avoid declassifying them or making them public.
Trump's team is likely to push to declassify the evidence in the hopes the DOJ will drop some of its charges.
"They will want to put pressure on the government to have to declassify as much information as possible for trial," Greer said. "If Trump's lawyers get the court to rule that any document that he is charged with has to be declassified in order to be used at trial, it might cause the Department of Justice to rethink some charges."
Trump's legal team will also need to secure clearances ahead of the discovery process, a task that even when expedited will cause delays.
The date set by Cannon falls in line with a defendant's right to trial within 70 days of arraignment. As Trump's team files motions that ignite new deadlines, the trial date will get pushed back.
Cannon's order is the second in the case in as many days; federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart sided with the DOJ on Monday in ordering Trump to refrain from disclosing any evidence in the trial. His order also only allows Trump to view the classified discovery in the case under the supervision of his attorneys.
Updated at 9:26 a.m. EDT.
Tags Aileen Cannon classified documents Donald Trump Donald Trump Espionage Act FBI Florida Jack Smith
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55 days and counting down...
Isn't that rather fast?
They don't call it a Rocket Docket for nothing! Yeah, I think most people expected something next year.
I never heard that term before
Timing is everything and the first GOP debate takes place on the 23rd of August. Sly devils aren't they??
By sly devil are you speaking about Trump appointed Judge Cannon?
It's a term for setting fast trial dates.
Could be. Who knows what evil lurks..............
Who? The GOP? Yes
But trmp and his team are going to want to push this trial further into the future, which the seed says probably won;t happen.
So I guess some are hoping for a not guilty verdict in which case the debates will go on with him. If he gets a guilty verdict he may try to continue campaigning....
In the hearts of corrupt politicians and judges
It was Judge Cannon who set the date. Also it's not expected to hold -
I read that wrong. My apologies
I doubt a verdict in two weeks........if, like you say, they don't push it out
I tend to agree about the guilty verdict in 2 weeks but stranger things have happened
Anyway...this trial won't start until after the new year, that's what my crystal ball says anyway
Just an FYI, In another article on this I read, a spokesperson for the Special Council said they expected the actual trial to last 21 days.
That fast,huh?
That sounded long to me given the indictments, but I suppose they have to address each charge individually. I'm wondering, though, if they are trying Nada with Trump or separately?
No, it’s standard. The defense in a felony case has a right to trial within 70 days, so that’s the initial trial date that gets set. Any time Trump wants a continuance for any reason, he will have to waive that right, and a new trial date will be set. That process can be repeated for years.
The trial judge can not grant a continuence as well.
One thing that will slow down the trial start date regardless of what either party wants is the classification of some of the documents. The prosecution has to verify that the documents they want to enter into evidence is relatively simple for a jury to understand potential damage to the US without worrying about potential damage of discussing it in court. The defense has to have a chance to review those documents by an already cleared attorney and for the TS ones in a SCIF.
Yeah, but they usually do. It can take a concerted effort from prosecutors and victims (if there are victims) to end the BS and get on with things.
We’ve got a murder case in our county that is literally five years old because the defense keeps delaying. But it’s starting to become publicly embarrassing, with increasing news coverage, so this may not go on much longer.
Somehow I doubt it will happen in Aug, I believe it will be delayed.
Will his defense lawyers get their security clearance by then so that they can view the documents? Or will the DOJ remove those charges? If the DOJ does not, then don't the jurists also need to be able to see those documents as part of their deliberations? I'm confident that will be an argument that Trump's lawyers will use.
Somehow I doubt if this trial will happen this calendar year.
I think pretty much everyone expects it to be delayed.
This isn't the first time a criminal case has been tried about classified information. But yes, everyone expects the defense to stall on motions of CIPA and the possible use of the silent witness rule. Break out the popcorn... the talking heads will have much to mull.
The worst part about that is that Trump will use all the free publicity as much as he can.
In that regard we can only hope the talking heads are right when they say Trump is undermining his own defense.