Judge in Trump Documents Case Rejects Special Counsel’s Plea

Federal district court Judge Aileen Cannon agreed Tuesday to delay a hearing regarding former President Donald Trump’s classified documents mishandling case. A preliminary hearing in the case involving both Trump and…

IJR SyndicatedJul 12, 20233 min read

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Smith argued in a legal brief that he wants the trial in December because the case “involves straightforward theories of liability, and does not present novel questions of fact or law,” The Washington Post reported.

Trump pleaded “not guilty” last month to all 37 counts in the DOJ’s 49-page indictment.

Trump’s lawyers argued in their brief the DOJ’s case involves untested legal questions regarding their client’s right to retain documents under the Presidential Records Act.

The attorneys also pointed to the difficulty of seating an unbiased jury when the defendant is a candidate for president.

“Proceeding to trial during the pendency of a Presidential election cycle wherein opposing candidates are effectively (if not literally) directly adverse to one another in this action will create extraordinary challenges in the jury selection process and limit the Defendants’ ability to secure a fair and impartial adjudication,” the lawyers wrote.

“Here, there is simply no question any trial of this action during the pendency of a Presidential election will impact both the outcome of that election and, importantly, the ability of the Defendants to obtain a fair trial,” they added.

Further, the attorneys pointed out the lengthy pre-trial discovery required due to the sheer volume of documents involved in the case, including those marked classified.

Following his indictment in a Miami federal court last month, Trump accused President Joe Biden of using his administration’s Justice Department to target his chief political foe heading into the 2024 Election, based on current polling.

“A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty, right in the middle of a presidential election in which he is losing very badly,” Trump said.

He added, “This is called election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election. More importantly, it’s a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.