Florida Hearing Could Impact Delay of Trump's Mar-a-Lago Documents Trial till After Election

Former President Donald Trump is set to request another postponement of one of his criminal trials, this time in a federal courtroom in Florida presided by Judge Aileen Cannon. Trump's legal team has raised concerns regarding their limited access to classified evidence in the Mar-a-Lago criminal document mishandling case, hindering their preparation for the scheduled trial in May 2022.

The Trump team has requested Cannon to delay the trial until at least mid-November 2024, as the complaints have now progressed to this point.

In a recent court filing, Trump's lawyers indicated that they were finally granted access to crucial documents relating to the serious felony charges filed by special counsel Jack Smith, after facing a four-month delay.

In response, Cannon decided to postpone the October deadlines she had initially set in the case. She scheduled a hearing for Wednesday afternoon in Ft. Pierce, Florida, where she will consider the possibility of adjusting the schedule. Trump's attorneys, along with his co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who are accused of assisting him in deceiving federal officials, have consistently sought to delay the criminal trial and other upcoming trials until after the election. They have cited Trump's ongoing presidential campaign, packed court schedule, and what they deem as the Justice Department's hasty approach to trial.

The indictment of classified records has cast a shadow over Trump's candidacy, primarily due to the concerns it has raised. With credible witnesses and even audio evidence available, it questions the level of importance Trump attributed to national security information that could potentially harm the United States if accessed at his club. Additionally, it brings to light his resistance to adhering to regulations concerning presidential records after his term in office. Cannon, a Trump appointee, has demonstrated some leniency towards Trump's team in the ongoing investigation of these documents.

Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira have pleaded their innocence.

The special counsel's office is urging Cannon to maintain the established dates. As per court records, the defense teams have been granted access to over 1 million pages of case-related information.

Last week, prosecutors informed the judge that Trump's team has consistently complained about their access to evidence in the case, including classified records. The prosecutors stated that despite having access since early October, the records were only received more than a week later at a secure facility in Miami.

According to a reliable source, Trump's legal team has been examining and deliberating over the classified evidence in Miami. Most recently, on Tuesday, the former president joined his lawyers in the SCIF during the afternoon.

Around a month ago, the team of Trump requested a reiteration of thousands of pages of evidence they already possessed from the investigation. Their goal was to determine the possible existence of copies of classified documents within a box stored at Mar-a-Lago, along with other documents. Prosecutors mentioned that this was in order to establish the storage location of those pages.