Special Counsel Jack Smith urged the federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents case to reject the former president’s bid to use his upcoming trial in New York as a means to delay facing federal charges in Florida. In his latest legal maneuver, Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, requested U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to extend the May deadline for reviewing classified evidence in the Florida case.
His legal team argued that Trump would be unable to meet the deadline due to his ongoing trial for state charges in Manhattan. The trial, which centers on allegations of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments related to an alleged affair with an adult film star before the 2016 election, may extend into June. Trump’s primary defense lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, emphasized the logistical challenge of being present in two different trials simultaneously.
” Trump’s legal team asserted in a submission to Cannon that his constitutional right to be present at the New York trial renders him unable to participate in vital defense preparations.’’ Trump’s attorneys wrote.
However, Smith countered in a court filing on Sunday evening that while Trump has a right to counsel, it is not unlimited. He emphasized that Trump’s legal team has had ample time to prepare for the May 9 deadline to review classified materials.
Smith also pointed out that Trump has local attorneys in Florida who can continue reviewing the classified materials during the New York trial. ” Whenever the Court establishes a fresh deadline in this matter to advance it towards trial, the defendants habitually request a postponement.. That must stop,” Smith stated.
As Trump’s legal team appears in the Manhattan courtroom on Monday, progress on the Mar-a-Lago documents case will significantly slow down. The case has stalled in Florida federal court, with Trump’s defense team reducing their work on the criminal case over the past six weeks. Cannon, the overseeing judge, has yet to schedule a trial date and has few other deadlines on her calendar, with a backlog of unresolved legal disputes.
Given the sensitive nature of the information involved, attorneys find it challenging to continue work outside Florida. The next phase of their work entails extensive discussions between Trump and his legal team in a secure facility in remote Fort Pierce, Florida, sources familiar with Trump’s legal team revealed. In the Saturday filing, Trump’s attorneys argued that meeting the evidence review deadline would necessitate lengthy classified submissions and extensive time in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) for preparation and discussion.
They emphasized that President Trump and his attorneys lack the time due to the imminent trial in New York. Federal prosecutors from the special counsel’s office are also pressing the case in Florida, urging Cannon to ensure that Trump’s team is ready for their arguments regarding classified records in the defense case. In a March hearing, prosecutor Jay Bratt stressed that Trump’s team has had the classified discovery for months and should be well-prepared for trial presentation.