By The newspaper
Feb 29, 2024, 9:15 PM EST
The special prosecutor in charge of investigating former President Donald Trump, Jack Smith, has requested that the criminal trial regarding the retention of classified papers, one of the four criminal proceedings against the Republican, begin on July 8.
This request has been presented to District Judge Aileen Cannon, in charge of presiding over Trump’s criminal trial in Florida. The judge could make a decision on the start date of the process at a hearing scheduled for this Friday.
Prosecutor Smith’s proposal would directly affect the Trump campaign and the Republican Party National Convention, which is scheduled to be held July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During this event it will be officially confirmed who will be the Republican candidate for president.
The trial against the former president for having illegally stored classified documents from when he was president in one of his mansions in Florida was initially scheduled for May 20.
For their part, Trump’s lawyers have presented an alternative date, proposing August 12 as the date for the trial. However, they have insisted that the trial should take place after the November 5 election.
Each of the legal proceedings against Trump has been the subject of delay attempts to postpone them as long as possible. There is speculation that if Trump is elected and wins the election against President Joe Biden, he could be pardoned if convicted.
Trump’s busy schedule
The documents presented by Trump’s lawyers highlight his busy schedule as a Republican candidate, including a calendar listing the dates of the presidential primaries and the Republican convention.
They argue that, as the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump firmly asserts that a fair trial cannot be held this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution.
So far, the only trial against Trump that has a closed date is the one in New York, for alleged irregular payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, set for March 25. The other processes are pending decisions of the Supreme Court.
Just yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the former Republican president can be tried for electoral interference in the 2020 presidential elections or if he has immunity. This announcement represents a new postponement of the trial against Trump in Washington DC, initially scheduled for March 4, but which had already been postponed previously.
The previous procedures remain paralyzed until there is a decision on the matter. The trial in Georgia, in which the Fulton County Prosecutor’s Office accuses Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in that state, also does not have a set trial date.
With information from EFE.
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