Donald Trump’s lawyers asked a US federal judge on Tuesday not to treat the former president the same as any other criminal defendant when setting the timetable for his trial for charges of mishandling of classified documentsciting his presidential campaign.
Trump, the favorite for the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, has pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally withholding national defense documents after leaving office in 2021 and of conspiring to obstruct government efforts. to get them back.
Trump’s lawyer, Christopher Kise, asked US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to take into account the timing of the US presidential campaign when deciding when to schedule the trial.
Cannon did not set a date for the trial during the hearing, which Trump did not attend, but was skeptical of prosecutors’ request that it begin in December.
He asked prosecutor Jay Bratt if there had ever been a case involving classified information that had gone to trial in less than six months, who replied that he could not point to a specific case.
But Cannon also seemed inclined to grant Trump’s request for an indefinite postponement, saying “we have to set a timetable.”
The case of the documents It is one of several prosecutions Trump faces related to his time in the White House. Trump said Tuesday that US special counsel Jack Smith, who handled the case in the documents, has also sent him a letter telling him he is the subject of a grand jury investigation into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
During Tuesday’s hearing in the case of the documents, Trump’s attorney, Kise, said that because the US Department of Justice under Biden brought the charges, the case could be seen as the “top two contenders for president.” of the United States facing off in court”.
Prosecutor David Harbach called the suggestions of political interference “absolutely false” and noted that Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel to distance the investigation from politics.
Cannon initially programmed the start of the trial for August 14a date that both the defense and the prosecution objected to because they said they needed more time to prepare.
