Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks with attorney Todd Blanche, at his criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records to hide money Payouts to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 continue, at Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S., May 6, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
A federal judge on Tuesday postponed the criminal case indefinitely classify documents testing of the former president Donald Trumpcourt records show.
Mr. Trump’s trial on charges of intentionally withholding classified national security records after leaving the White House and then hiding them from the federal government is scheduled to begin on May 20.
But the new one ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon vacated that date and set a new slate of pretrial proceedings, the latest of which is a hearing set for July 22.
The ruling casts doubt on whether Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will face trial on federal criminal charges before November 5. election.
Trump’s lawyers called Cannonwho Trump appointed to a federal judgeship in south Florida, to set the trial after the election.
Cannon wrote in Tuesday’s court order that it would be imprudent to set a trial date “at this time” when many pre-trial issues remain unresolved.
Cannon pointed to pending questions about how classified information will be handled in the former president’s high-profile trial, along with “the additional pre-trial and trial preparation needed to present the case this case before a jury.”
She wrote that continuing the trial into May would be “inconsistent with the Court’s obligation to fully and fairly consider” those issues.
“The Court therefore vacates the current trial date of May 20, 2024 (and the related trial calendar), to be reset by separate order after resolution of the issues before the Court, consistent with Defendants’ due process rights and the public interest in the fair and efficient administration of justice,” Cannon wrote.
Trump is fighting 88 criminal charges in four separate courts as he campaigns for President Joe Biden. He is currently on trial in Manhattan Supreme Court on charges of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
It remains unclear whether any of Trump’s other cases will go to trial before Election Day — and after Cannon’s latest ruling, this is looking increasingly unlikely.
In addition to the documents lawsuit, Trump is also charged in federal court in Washington, DC, with conspiring to overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 election. He also faces charges of election interference in Georgia state court.
