Florida Federal Judge Set Trial Date for Trump Document Lawsuit for May 2024

A federal judge on Friday set a trial date for May 20 in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

If the date does come to pass, the unprecedented trial will unfold well beyond the 2024 primary season and into the midsummer party convention.

With Trump campaigning as the Republican front-runner for the White House, U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon set the date after considering prosecutorial requests for a trial around December and an indefinite delay from Trump’s lawyers.

---

---

Special Counsel Jack Smith has secured a federal indictment from a Florida grand jury alleging that Trump kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach and tried to stop an archivist from seeking the documents.

Trump faces 31 federal indictments for willful retention of defense information and one count for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Withhold documents or records. Unauthorized concealment of documents or records. Conceal documents in federal investigations. Carry out a plan for cover-up. Making false statements or representations.

His valet, Walt Nauta, has also been charged with charges related to moving documents and making statements to investigators.
Trump has pleaded not guilty, citing his powers as former president.

Judge Cannon has set a trial date for a trial in Fort Pierce, Fla., but the political community is gearing up for a possible second indictment from Smith’s team over Trump’s actions after the 2020 election and in preparation for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Trump said he received a targeted letter on Sunday, suggesting that grand jury activity increased in Washington throughout the week, suggesting an indictment could be imminent.

In a separate case, Trump is facing state indictment in New York for forgery of business documents related to hush money payments to adult movie star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom have alleged an affair with Trump, and 34 counts of forgery of business documents against a Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had a child. Mr Trump has denied all of their claims.

Meanwhile, Georgia prosecutors are edging closer to a possible indictment of Trump for trying to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Ravensperger to mine enough votes to overtake Joe Biden, who won by a narrow margin in the state.

Fulton County began the selection of a grand jury earlier this month to determine whether District Attorney Fanny Willis has enough evidence to bring election obstruction charges against Trump and his associates.