The judge in the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in relation to his alleged handling of classified documents delayed, which will likely push it back beyond the November election. The move comes as the former president was in court for the ongoing case in New York.
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon wrote Tuesday that it would “be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions” to set a trial date at this time. She said that more time was needed for “additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury.”
The decision came as special counsel Jack Smith argued that the trial could begin before the Republican National Convention in July. Trump’s legal team had said that more time was needed to review the evidence in question.
The judge wrote in her ruling that the original May 20 trial date was vacated and that the new timing would be made “following resolution of the matters before the Court, consistent with Defendants’ right to due process and the public’s interest in the fair and efficient administration of justice.”
The exact timing of such a change has not been announced.
The delay appears to be a significant win for the former president, who sought a delay in the case. It also came after revelations from Smith that the documents seized from Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago home were not placed in the evidence boxes in the same order as earlier claimed.
Prediction: The South Florida classified documents case is never going to trial. The whole thing is a sham rig job and Judge Cannon actually seems willing to investigate the details, unlike the other Trump judges. https://t.co/7z85ZHSOoz
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 7, 2024
The delay in the documents case could also increase pressure to delay the other cases against the former president. This may include the other case brought by Smith against Trump regarding the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Furthermore, the case brought against Trump by Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis (D) faced sharp criticism after it was revealed that she reportedly had an affair with an attorney she later named a special prosecutor in the case.
