Updated May 7, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Trump's federal classified docs trial date postponed indefinitely

Donald Trump speaking at a lectern with spectators' hands raised in front of him. American flags are in the background. — Former President Trump speaks to supporters at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster following his appearance in a Miami court in June 2023 in Bedminster, New Jersey. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday indefinitely postponed former President Trump's classified documents trial date in Florida, citing a number of outstanding pre-trial motions.

Why it matters: The ruling makes it unlikely that the classified documents trial will end before the 2024 presidential election, where Trump is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

Cannon's Tuesday ruling is a win for Trump, who has successfully pushed for delays in multiple criminal trials ahead of November's election.
Trump pleaded not guilty last June to the historic 37-count indictment related to his handling of classified documents after he left the White House.

Driving the news: Cannon wrote in the Tuesday filing that the trial start date, originally scheduled for May 20, is delayed so she can resolve pre-trial motions in the case.

Cannon said that the "finalization of a trial date at this juncture ... would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court's duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court."

Zoom in: Before Cannon's Tuesday ruling, the trial start date was expected to be pushed back due to a myriad of unresolved matters.

Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, has come under mounting scrutiny over her handling of the case, with critics saying that she is intentionally slow-walking the case.

The big picture: Prosecutors and Trump's team have repeatedly clashed over the trial start date, with special counsel Jack Smith's team arguing for a start date in early July.

Trump's legal team, which has tried to dismiss the charges entirely, sought a delay beyond the presidential election, but proposed an early August start date as an alternative.

Trump's team has repeatedly tried to delay the court processes as Democrats' hopes dwindle that courts will intervene in Trump's presidential prospects.

What to watch: Cannon's Tuesday ruling increases the odds that Trump's ongoing New York criminal trial is the only one that concludes before the November election. He is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in the New York case.

The timing of three of four of Trump's criminal cases are in limbo.

Go deeper: Trump trials timeline: Jan. 6, Georgia and docs cases all in limbo

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Trump's federal classified docs trial date postponed indefinitely

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