Ft. Pierce, Florida CNN — US District Judge Aileen Cannon signaled she is likely to push back the start of a trial in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case beyond the mid-December date proposed by federal prosecutors – but appeared deeply skeptical of arguments from Donald Trump’s lawyers that he couldn’t get a fair trial while running for president.
During the hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, Cannon said a proposal from federal prosecutors that the trial of Trump and his aide be held in mid-December was “a bit rushed.” She told the prosecutors that their timeline was “compressed” and said that cases like this take more time. Cannon did not decide on a trial date but said she plans to “promptly” issue an order on the matter.
The judge also pressed the Trump legal team to commit to a timeline for at least some of the steps in the pre-trial process. The defense attorneys told Cannon that they believed they would be able to review enough discovery by November to be able to suggest a potential trial date.
Federal Judge Signals 2024 Election Won’t Be Deciding Factor on Trump Trial Date
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in South Florida said Tuesday she doesn’t think the 2024 election will be a deciding factor for her in determining when the ex-president’s historic trial begins.
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon made the comment during a nearly two-hour public hearing on the 37-count criminal indictment that Special Counsel Jack Smith secured in June against Trump and his personal valet and co-defendant, Walt Nauta.
Among Cannon’s top early priorities is establishing a schedule for the legal proceedings, and Tuesday’s hearing marked the first time she’s brought together federal prosecutors and defense attorneys for Trump and Nauta to discuss the matter.
