Donald Trump’s legal team informed a U.S. judge that they hold the belief he cannot receive a fair trial this year regarding charges of mishandling classified documents post his White House tenure. This assertion coincides with Trump’s active campaign endeavors to reclaim the presidency.
U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, overseeing the case against Trump, proposed a trial commencement date of July 8.
In response, Trump’s attorneys stated in their filing that he “strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution.”
Despite initially claiming an unfair trial in the filing, Trump’s legal team later proposed an August 12, 2024, commencement for the trial, as revealed on the seventh page.
Notably, a Trump attorney has yet to address inquiries regarding this inconsistency. The filings were submitted before a scheduled Friday court session, during which U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is set to deliberate on trial commencement timing.
This trial constitutes one of four criminal cases confronting Trump, who stands as the prominent contender for the Republican presidential nomination.
Judge Aileen Cannon had previously postponed various pre-trial deadlines, opting to await Friday’s session to deliberate on potentially rescheduling the May 20 trial date.
Trump has entered a plea of not guilty to 40 federal charges, alleging his retention of sensitive national security documents at his Florida resort subsequent to his 2021 departure from office, and obstructing efforts by the U.S. government to retrieve them.
Trump is a co-defendant in this case alongside his personal aide Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, a property manager at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Both Nauta and de Oliveira have also pleaded not guilty.
Trump has consistently pursued postponements in all four of the criminal lawsuits against him, contending that they are orchestrated to undermine his electoral campaign.
In addition to the federal charges, Trump is slated to stand trial in a New York state court starting March 25. These charges relate to allegations of falsifying records to facilitate hush money payments to a pornographic actress before the 2016 election.
The scheduling of the remaining three cases remains ambiguous, raising doubts about whether any will proceed to trial before the November election.
