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A new trial date has been set by a US federal judge regarding the alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents by Donald Trump. The trial is now scheduled to start in May 2024.
The trial was originally planned for next month in a Florida courthouse, but the original timeline would not have allowed adequate time for preparation by the defendant and government attorneys, according to US District Judge Aileen Cannon’s order on Friday.
Despite facing legal troubles, Trump remains the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, with approximately 50% of Republican voters supporting him according to opinion polls.
The trial’s start date may change again. If it begins in late May 2024 as currently scheduled, it would come after the primary elections but before the official nominating convention in July of that year. This means that Trump could potentially stand as the party’s presumptive nominee for the White House during his trial.
Trump has expressed his determination to continue his presidential campaign despite the legal challenges.
Last month, Trump was charged with 37 criminal counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealing documents in a federal investigation, and making false statements. He has pleaded not guilty and alleged that the case, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, is politically motivated.
The trial is related to secret government material seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, which reportedly contained information on US nuclear programs and military vulnerabilities. These documents were brought to Florida by Trump after leaving the White House in 2021.
Judge Cannon, in her order on Friday, selected a trial date that falls between the government’s request for a December start and Trump’s petition to wait until after the 2024 presidential elections. She deemed the government’s proposed schedule to be rushed and unfair, considering the large amount of evidence involved, including over 1.1 million pages of non-classified material and at least nine months of camera footage.
This decision to schedule a new trial date comes shortly after Trump stated that he received a letter from the US Department of Justice notifying him of a separate probe linked to the events leading up to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
If charges are brought, it would be the third criminal case against Trump this year. In April, he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case brought by the Manhattan district attorney, which involved “hush money” payments made to an adult film actress. Additionally, a special grand jury in Georgia has been investigating alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election by Trump and others, and charges may be brought this summer.
Furthermore, Trump’s business group, the Trump Organization, has recently reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, in New York. Cohen sought to recoup over $1 million in legal fees from the Trump Organization, claiming they were incurred after he started cooperating with federal prosecutors in investigations related to Trump’s connections to Russia. The settlement amount remains undisclosed.
In a separate case pending in Florida, Trump has sued Cohen, who is expected to be a key witness in the Manhattan hush-money case against Trump, set for trial next year.
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