(ReliableNews.org) – Former President Donald Trump has tried to postpone his various criminal trials. He was unsuccessful in the Manhattan case but struck gold in Judge Aileen Cannon’s courtroom.
On May 7, US District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a ruling that pushed the trial back indefinitely in the case against Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. The decision came after months of the judge delaying rulings in the case after originally setting the trial date for May 20. In her latest ruling, the Trump appointee stated that there were too many pre-trial motions and classified material rules to deal with before the case went to trial.
Cannon said she didn’t know when those issues would be wrapped up, so she couldn’t set another trial date. Her decision all but guarantees the former president will not face trial on the allegations before the November election. However, she did set the dates for various pre-trial motions that will take place between now and late July.
On March 1, prosecutors with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office asked the judge to schedule a trial date for July. They argued there’s been more than enough time for the defense to prepare for the trial. Smith’s team accused the former president of using his other trials to try to delay the proceedings in the classified documents case.
Trump’s team has asked the judge to push the trial date past the November election. Attorney Todd Blanche’s team, who’s representing Trump in his Manhattan trial and the case of the documents in Florida, told Cannon that the lawyer was tied up in New York and hadn’t had time to prepare for the trial regarding the documents.
The attorneys for the former president have also argued that holding a trial so close to a presidential election would amount to election interference.
Smith has charged Trump with multiple crimes for his refusal to return hundreds of classified documents to the National Archives when he left office. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
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