2023-06-21 05:01:00
Aileen Cannon, the lead judge in the criminal case against former US President Donald Trump over classified documents found at his Florida home, ordered the jury trial to take place in two weeks from August 14. The order issued is aimed at the defense and the prosecution with a view to preparing for the trial and sets deadlines for all prior proceedings.
If the date of this federal trial is maintained, it would begin less than 10 days before the first debate between the Republican candidates, scheduled for August 23 in Wisconsin. It is very common, however, that the start of a process is postponed due to petitions submitted by the parties involved. Judge Cannon, who is of Colombian and Cuban origin and was appointed by Trump, has her court in Fort Pierce, which is why the trial is going to be held in that city in Palm Beach County, the same one where the tycoon has his domicile. legal.
Special counsel Jack Smith, in charge of the investigation, promised that the trial against Trump and his assistant, Waltine Nauta, who is charged as an accessory, would be “expeditious” and “in accordance with the public interest and the rights of defendants”. For his part, the former president, a day before the judge’s announcement, defended himself in an interview on Fox News, where he stated that he left the White House quickly in 2021 and that his personal belongings were mixed with government documents. “He had every right to have those boxes,” he said, while claiming that he did not return the documents because “he was very busy.”
numerous causes
Trump was accused on June 13 in the Miami courts of 37 federal criminal offenses for mishandling official documents after leaving the presidency in 2021. Of the 37 charges, of which the 77-year-old billionaire pleaded not guilty, 31 are for knowingly withholding US defense-related documents, but he is also charged with obstructing justice and “corruptly concealing” documents or records. Some of those crimes are punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He is also the subject of other judicial investigations, making him the first US president or former president to be charged by federal justice. In the first place, he has already been indicted by the New York state court on charges of accounting fraud in connection with a payment made before the 2016 presidential election to silence a pornographic film actress, a criminal trial that is scheduled to take place. in early 2024. In addition, he is under the spotlight for his alleged role in the attack on the Capitol by his followers in January 2021 and a Georgia prosecutor must announce the results of his investigation into the alleged pressure exerted by Trump to try to change the result of the 2020 presidential elections.
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