Former United States President Donald Trump's trial in his classified documents case has been set for a May schedule after Judge Aileen Cannon rejected the Republican businessman's bid to delay it until after the 2024 presidential election.
In the judge's latest order, she said that the trial will be held in her home courthouse located in Fort Pierce, Florida. The legal battle will select its jury members from several counties that the Republican businessman won unanimously during his two previous presidential campaigns.
Judge Sets Date for Trump's Classified Docs Case Trial
Additionally, Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, laid out a calendar of hearings that will be conducted throughout this year and into the next. These include those that concern the former president's handling of classified material, which are at the heart of the case.
The development comes after a contentious hearing held on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce. There, prosecutors who are working for Special Counsel Jack Smith, and lawyers working for Trump, debated over a schedule of when to hold the trial in the case, as per the New York Times.
Many consider the timing of the trial in the classified documents case as being crucial as Trump is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential election. Additionally, the timeline would intersect with the former president's campaign schedule.
The date that Judge Cannon selected, May 20, 2024, comes after the majority of the primary contests. However, it is still less than two months from the start of the Republican National Convention (RNC), which is scheduled in July, and the formal start of the general election season.
The Republican businessman's advisers have also been blunt about their belief that winning the presidency is how Trump hopes to defeat the legal challenges brought against him. The former president has adopted a strategy of delaying the trial, which many expect to take several weeks, for as long as he can.
Cannon's selection of a trial date for the classified documents case was made more complicated because Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March after being indicted on state charges earlier this year in New York, according to the Washington Post.
Pleading Not Guilty to the Charges
The classified documents case also involves Trump's longtime aide, Walt Nauta, and they are both charged in a 38-count indictment. Authorities accuse the Republican businessman of improperly handling 31 classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Prosecutors also claim that the former president enlisted the help of his longtime aide to assist him in keeping some of the highly classified materials from being taken back by federal agents during a raid to return the documents.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges during separate court appearances in Miami and the former president has continued to criticize the case and other investigations scrutinizing him as being politically motivated.
A spokesperson for Trump said in a Friday statement that Cannon's decision on a date is a "major setback to the DOJ's crusade to deny President Trump a fair legal process." Additionally, they noted that the schedule allows the Republican businessman and his legal team to continue to fight the supposed "empty hoax," said NBC News.
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