(DailyChive.com) – Special Counsel Jack Smith received a major setback as the court postponed Trump’s classified document trial for an indefinite period of time.
Trump’s classified documents trial was supposed to be started on May 20, but judge Aileen Cannon ruled that there are multiple complexities surrounding evidence that need resolution before the federal criminal case can proceed to a jury.
According to Cannon, the court is not in a position to impartially address the pre-trial motions due to unresolved complex issues, which are expected to emerge during the trial.
The judge also stated that delaying the trial is necessary to provide fair opportunity to the defendant and keep the justice process transparent and efficient for everyone.
Now, Cannon has scheduled additional hearings for several outstanding issues, beginning this month and concluding in late July. This timetable means that this trial will not start before August, when the 2024 presidential election campaign is likely to be in full swing.
Trump has long urged the court to delay his trials until after the presidential elections, citing that court proceedings hinder his campaign efforts. However, the Trump campaign had also suggested the court to delay the trial by at least August if postponing it till the November election is not feasible.
The court reached the decision to delay Trump’s trial after finding irregularities in the FBI documents against Trump.
Smith has already acknowledged that the documents captured by the FBI while raiding Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence are not present in their original order.
Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, who also chairs the House Judiciary Committee, is also investigating any possible manipulation of the documents, which the prosecutors have previously claimed are present in their original form.
Now, the delay in the trial also means that Trump’s classified documents handling case can collide with other cases in the near future.
Trump is accused of mishandling classified documents, but he did not plead guilty to 37 charges against him.
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