by Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge Monday to delay a criminal trial over Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents until after next year’s presidential election.
In a filing in federal court in Miami, lawyers for Trump and his co-defendant, personal assistant Walt Nauta, said that “commencing a trial of this magnitude within six months of the indictment is unreasonable, revealing, and would be in a legal error. .”
In a court filing late last month, prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith’s team requested that the trial be delayed until December 11 after a federal judge overseeing the case set the trial date for August 14. .
Trump was indicted last month on seven criminal counts alleging he mishandled more than 100 classified documents discovered last year at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
He faces 37 counts alleging he knowingly withheld national defense information, conspired to obstruct justice and made false statements. He has pleaded not guilty.
Monday’s filing notes that Trump is running for president and says he is the likely Republican nominee, an undertaking that “requires an enormous amount of time and energy, and that effort will continue through the November 5, 2024 election.”
Nauta’s job, the filing says, requires him to accompany Trump on most of his campaign trips.
Selecting a fair and impartial jury during a presidential campaign makes the prospect of a December trial date even more daunting, the filing says.
The filing adds that Trump, like his defense attorneys, has “pre-scheduled trials on other matters” that make the scheduled date “almost impossible.”
Trump hopes to cash in on the Republican nomination for president in 2024. While no final date has been set for the Iowa caucuses, the first primary contest is expected to be held in mid-January.
