Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump walks with attorney Todd Blanche as his criminal trial continues in Manhattan state court on charges that he falsified business records to conceal a 2016 payment to porn star Trump Stormy Daniels’ silence charges.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
A federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely postponed former President Donald Trump’s trial for classified criminal documents, a court filing showed.
The trial on charges that Trump knowingly withheld classified national security records and concealed them from federal authorities after leaving the White House is scheduled to begin on May 20.
But a new ruling by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon removed that date and set new pretrial proceedings, the latest of which was a hearing scheduled for July 22.
The ruling adds to doubts about whether Republican presidential candidate Trump will face trial on federal criminal charges before the Nov. 5 election.
Trump’s lawyers have urged Trump to appoint Cannon to a federal judgeship in southern Florida to schedule a trial after the election.
Cannon wrote in Tuesday’s court order that it “would be imprudent” to set a trial date “at this time” while various pretrial issues are unresolved.
Cannon pointed to unresolved questions about how classified information will be handled in the high-profile trial of the former president, as well as the “additional pretrial and trial preparation required to present the case to the jury.”
She wrote that moving forward with a May trial would be “incompatible with the court’s obligation to fully and fairly consider” these issues.
“Accordingly, the court cancels the current trial date of May 20, 2024 (and the associated calendar notice) and will reset it through a separate order after the court resolves the issues, consistent with the defendant’s due process rights and the public’s interest in the case. Benefit.
Trump is fighting 88 criminal counts in four different courts as he campaigns against 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’s unclear whether Trump’s other cases will go to trial before Election Day, and that’s increasingly unlikely after Cannon’s latest ruling.
In addition to the documents case, Trump has been charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. He also faces charges of election interference in Georgia state courts.
