Special counsel asks for December trial date for Trump in Mar-a-Lago documents case

[pnwmom]

Source: CNN

CNN
—
The special counsel’s office has asked for Donald Trump to be tried in December in the Mar-a-Lago documents matter, because of how classified records must be handled carefully within the criminal case.

A federal judge previously put the trial on the calendar for mid-August but a delay to the date was expected. December, however, is not yet a firm date, and the Trump team may ask for a different schedule.

The request from prosecutors on Friday came amid a trio of new filings governing preparations to be done on the case before trial by both the Justice Department and Trump’s defense team.

“This case is not so unusual or complex … because it has only two defendants, involves straightforward theories of liability, and does not present novel questions of fact or law. However, the case does involve classified information and will necessitate defense counsel obtaining the requisite security clearances,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/23/politics/trump-federal-trial-date-special-counsel/index.html

[Tetrachloride]

1. December. well, not much rocket in the docket

[emulatorloo]

3. " because of how classified records must be handled carefully in the case"

“ the case does involve classified information and will necessitate defense counsel obtaining the requisite security clearances,”

[H2O Man]

2. Recommended.

The judge scheduled pre=trial hearings to start this summer. According to this report, the DoJ is requesting the trial begins in December.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Just heard on the radio that Smith delivered a witness list with *84 names*

and part of the delay reasoning was to give the defense time to deal with that.

OP article included this about those witnesses -

Trump’s team indicated the list is 84 names long, according to the court filing.

Prosecutors provided the list to Trump’s team on Thursday, the filing said, and now wants the court to have the list as well under seal. Trump’s team could still argue against some names on the list.

The list is part of Trump and Nauta’s terms of release as they await their criminal trials. If they violate the court’s order of discussing the case with people on the list, they could be held in contempt or detained.

The list doesn’t encompass all possible trial witnesses in the case, the DOJ noted.

[Novara]

12. These are the first 84 people he's not supposed to have contact with

And he'll violate that in 3...2...

[onenote]

13. He can have contact with them but he can't discuss the facts of the case

From the arraignment transcript:

THE COURT: "...no communication about the case with fact witnesses who are on a list provided by the Government."

Will he abide by this restriction? I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

[gab13by13]

5. I like what Smith is doing

Everyone knew that a trial in August wasn't going to happen, this Dec. 11th date is reasonable. I feel better that a trial can happen before the election, but am not betting on it until I see how Cannon reacts to pre-trial motions in July.

Having the trial in Fort Pierce delays things because the courthouse isn't equipped to handle the classified documents like Miami is.

The trial should have been held in Miami or West Palm Beach but Cannon knows the jury pool is pro-Trump in Fort Pierce.

[Deminpenn]

6. One of the guest lawyers on

MSNBC said that Smith asked for the Dec date as a realistic target for the trial to start, sufficiently out to accommodate the pre-trial motions and handling the classified material. The guest said this was a way to box Trump in from endless delay tactics.

[hookaleft]

7. Smithmas?

[SouthernDem4ever]

8. Disappointing

It was hoping for conviction by then.

[republianmushroom]

9. First delay, Surprise about delay, No, there will be more.

[onenote]

11. Zero surprise. It was always clear that the trial couldn't start in August

The process laid out in the Classified Information Procedures Act is time consuming. DOJ made a point of spelling out that process in great detail in one of the filings it made yesterday.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653.32.0.pdf

[Bayard]

10. A conviction would be a wonderful xmas present!

[Red Mountain]

14. The original date was......

maybe a little obnoxious?

Or another sign she's inexperienced or incompetent or both?

It seemed very unlikely from the get-go.