Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to delay the trial of former President Donald Trump on charges related to alleged handling of classified documents Friday.
Smith filed the motions before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, seeking to move the trial to December as opposed to the scheduled August 14 trial date, ABC News reported. Smith’s filings cited the need to ensure sufficient time for Trump’s defense attorneys to receive security clearances to look at the material. (RELATED: Rubio: ‘Divisive, Damaging’ Indictment Worse For Country Than Trump Keeping Secret Docs ‘In Cardboard Boxes’)
JUST IN: Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the judge overseeing former Pres. Trump’s classified documents case to delay the start of his criminal trial until December. https://t.co/jgrdhTtd2j
— ABC News (@ABC) June 24, 2023
Trump entered a plea of “not guilty” to all counts during his arraignment June 13, after the special counsel secured a grand jury indictment on 37 counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, that was unsealed June 9. Trump claimed the documents were declassified prior to the indictment.
Smith also filed a motion requesting to keep the names of witnesses that Trump and Walt Nauta would be ordered not to discuss the trial with under seal, according to ABC News.
Cannon, who Trump appointed to the federal bench in May 2020, will reportedly preside over the criminal case brought against Trump over the handling of classified documents. Cannon previously ordered the appointment of a special master to review documents seized during the Aug. 8 raid on Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate Trump owns, but the ruling was later overturned on appeal.
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