Trump Classified Docs Case: Sides Spar Over Start Date

Facts

• Former Pres. Donald Trump on Friday appeared in federal court in Fort Pierce, Fa., for a hearing that mainly focused on the start date for his trial related to the criminal case against him over retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after his presidency.¹
• Trump's team said it would be 'unfair' to hold the trial before November's presidential election, but prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith's office requested a July 8 start date.²
• Prosecutor Jay Bratt said holding the trial within 60 days of the election wouldn’t violate Dept. of Justice (DOJ) protocol but Trump's attorney said that the trial could take up to five weeks and push close to the election if it starts in July.³
• US District Judge Aileen Cannon had set a May 20 start date but postponed that because the US Supreme Court is considering Trump's claims of presidential immunity. Cannon didn't set a new date but called the prosecutors' request 'unrealistic.'⁴
• Cannon acknowledged that setting a date for this trial is also challenging because Trump is facing three other criminal trials — in New York, Washington, D.C., and Georgia — that could take place this spring and summer.⁵
• In this case, Trump is facing 40 criminal charges, including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.⁵

Sources: ¹Forbes, ²NBC, ³ABC News, ⁴The Palm Beach Post and ⁵Yahoo News.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by America First Legal. This case completely exposes the political weaponization of the Justice Department by the Biden administration. The DOJ violated many of its own rules to infringe on the former president’s rights and this case is a sham. Rather than delaying this trial, it should be canceled.
• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by MSNBC. This trial should start sooner rather than later. Trump's team is pulling out every trick in the book to delay the proceedings against him, hoping that his judicial appointees will do him a favor. He knows that if he delays long enough and wins the presidency in November, he can avoid prosecution.

Predictions