President Trump’s trial on the classified documents indictment brought by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is now scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024. This would, of course, with some delays due to motions brought by attorneys, very likely put it beginning just a few weeks or months before the November Presidential Election. How’s that for “Election interference?”
Former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of mishandling classified documents will begin on May 20, 2024, a federal judge ordered Friday.
Judge Aileen Cannon laid out the schedule three days after defense lawyers argued that the case should not head to trial until after the November 2024 presidential election, due to Trump’s status as a current presidential candidate.
The trial will take place in U.S. District Court in Fort Pierce, Florida, Cannon ordered.
The ruling from Cannon lands on a middle ground between the requests of Trump’s legal team and the Department of Justice, which had pushed for the trial to begin in late 2023.
Polls show Trump is currently leading the 2024 Republican primary field. If the case moves forward as currently scheduled, the trial would come after a slew of key states have already held their nominating contests. The Republican National Convention, where the GOP will select its presidential nominee, is set to take place in Milwaukee in mid-July 2024.
“Today’s order by Judge Cannon is a major setback to the DOJ’s crusade to deny President Trump a fair legal process,” a Trump campaign spokesperson said in a statement Friday afternoon.
“The extensive schedule allows President Trump and his legal team to continue fighting this empty hoax,” the spokesperson said. The statement also suggested without evidence that the Biden administration launched the criminal case in order to thwart Trump’s chances in the 2024 election. . . . .
CNBC