Former US President Donald Trump directed by US District Judge Aileen Cannon to appear before the court for trial next year on account of the ‘ Mar-a-Lago’ case.
The Republican party member and Former US President Donald Trump will face trial for the classified document case in May 2024. This comes at the backdrop of the US Presidential Elections scheduled for November 2024 with Trump being the prime candidate for the Republican Party. He has been allegedly accused of retaining classified national defense information, including US nuclear plans and security secrets amounting to a tedious trial under the Classified Information Procedures Act or CIPA.
The scheduled final date for trial came after a prolonged legal negotiation between Trump‘s attorney (Evan Corcoran) and the defense attorneys. While the prosecutor filed a motion to delay the trial for four months, the defense countered with a push to extend the delay indefinitely. The Defense asked for an indefinite extension for trial keeping in view the upcoming Presidential elections aiming for Trump’s cancellation for candidature.
The defense strongly argued in favour of their claim because all trials for other cases against Trump have also been set for next year. Trump’s attorney had asked the Judge for a mere four-month delay in trial but she denied both sides. Judge Cannon slashed the claim for a December trial and said that it was “atypically accelerated” because the case is complex and requires multiple pre-trials motions by the defense to exclude evidence.
The Judge decreed that matters in ‘interest of justice’ cannot be delayed for more than 9 months from the original date in August. Hence, a middle ground was covenanted and the final date for hearing is filed for May 2024 in Florida.
The Republican nominee has also been accused of falsifying business documents and hiding them from federal investigators, with the money being transferred confidentially to a porn actor. This case is to be heard on March 25 in Manhattan next year. Additionally, this amplifies the woes of the Former president and he deems it a “crusade” by the justice department as the trials are scheduled only two months prior to the Republican National Convention in July.
While the Judge did not agree with the defense lawyers’ motion, she did acknowledge that the evidence pertaining to the case is “voluminous” and the lawyers would need ample time to collect and review existing evidence . Keeping in sight the technicality and legal duress involved in this case, May 2024 is a fair date, according to the court.
Trump has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in 37 Federal counts amid an arraignment in Miami last month. The Jurors for the case will be selected from the Fort Pierce division which comprise of several counties that Donald Trump won in 2020 elections. Cannon has also stated that the trial period would be two weeks wherein Trump is to be questioned under Section 6(c) of the Classified Information Procedures Act.
If the date does not hold true, it is speculated that if Trump gets re-elected and the trial is not pushed until after the elections, his reinstatement could cause an obstruction of justice. Trump can easily intimidate the Justice department to drop all charges against him. Therefore, it becomes a central issue for the court to conduct the trial fairly. He is also facing a trial for the January 6 incident where his supporters barged into the US Capitol, causing riots. Ongoing trials also include other civil lawsuits by Letitia James and Jean Caroll for financial fraud and sexual harassment respectively.
Trump could also face trial for overturning the 2020 election results in the next year.
