2023-06-24 03:47:26
WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) – Special Counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge on Friday to delay the start of the trial of former President Donald Trump until December 11 on charges of intentional withholding of classified government records and obstruction of justice, showed a court filing.
On Tuesday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon set the initial trial date for Aug. 14.
But Smith, in the filing, said the August 14 date “would deny defendant’s counsel or government counsel reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.”
Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was arraigned in Miami federal court last week, pleading not guilty to charges that he illegally stored national security documents when left office and lied to the officials who tried to get them back.
The case must be conducted under a strict and meticulous set of rules laid out in a law known as the Classified Information Procedures Law, which is intended to protect classified evidence and manage how such records can be disclosed.
In the filing, Smith said the start of the trial should be delayed to give Trump’s lawyers time to obtain security clearances to review classified documents.
Smith proposed a schedule in the lead up to the start of jury selection on Dec. 11, which includes a Sept. 5 deadline for all defense disclosure requests.
He said Trump’s lawyers are not opposed to scrapping the August 14 trial start date, but he anticipates they will file a motion opposing the prosecution’s proposed schedule. An attorney for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing in Spanish by Ricardo Figueroa)
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