Trump’s lawyers on Wednesday afternoon attended a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, looking to postpone Trump’s trial in his document trial in Florida. They made the claim which Judge Cannon apparently agrees with that Jack Smith and his accomplices are holding back documents in Trump’s case. I question why Biden, who had many more documents than Trump has not been indicted and probably never will. On Tuesday, Trump and his attorneys visited a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) to view the classified documents.
Judge Aileen Cannon paused the trial last month while she decides whether to postpone the trial because defense attorneys will need a lot of time to examine the slow walk the documents being used to prosecute Trump. Last month Trump attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche that Jack Smith and his fellow felons were using delaying tactics to slow down the defense to a crawl. They claim they will not be able to sift through the withheld documents win order to be ready to try the case in May.
Trump’s lawyers wrote last month:
“On July 18, 2023, the Special Counsel’s Office represented to the Court that ‘all’ discovery would be available on ‘day one.’”
The lawyers also complained that Jack Smith scheduled trials that would force Trump attorneys to be in two different cities at the same time. This I believe is impossible since it has never ben done before.
Trump’s lawyers wrote, according to CBS News:
“The March 4, 2023 trial date in the District of Columbia, and the underlying schedule in that case, currently require President Trump and his lawyers to be in two places at once. And, months after the Office’s representation to the Court, discovery is not complete in this case—including with respect to the classified documents at issue in more than 25% of the [Espionage Act] counts in the Superseding Indictment.”
Of course, this was Jack Smith’s plan all along. Make it impossible for Trump’s lawyers to navigate between Washington DC and Florida by scheduling court dates on top of each other.
On Wednesday Judge Cannon signaled she may postpone Trump’s trial. She also admonished one of Jack Smith’s prosecutors, according to Julie Kelly who attended Wednesday’s hearing.
Judge Cannon is considering a modified trial schedule although she did not issue a ruling on Wednesday.
NEW: Just left classified docs case hearing in Judge Cannon courtroom. She will consider a modified trial schedule given numerous issues including voluminous discovery, discovery delays, late delivery of secure location to review evidence and Trump’s conflicting trial schedules.
— Julie Kelly ???????? (@julie_kelly2) November 1, 2023
CNN reported:
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago document-mishandling case cast doubt on the viability having a trial in May 2024, signaling she may postpone the criminal proceedings.
During a hearing Wednesday in south Florida, US District Judge Aileen Cannon raised concerns that the defense team wouldn’t be able to complete trial preparations between now and the spring as they handle other cases for Trump and a stacked trial schedule.
“I’m having a hard time seeing how this work can be accomplished realistically in this period of time,” Cannon said.
Cannon told Justice Department prosecutor Jay Bratt, who asked to keep the trial schedule as is: “I’m not seeing in your position a level of understanding to these realities.”
Cannon did not issue a ruling in court on Wednesday.
