Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor-in-chief of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The federal judge presiding over the criminal case related to Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents has postponed the trial in Florida indefinitely, citing the need for “adequate preparation.”
In a document filed Tuesday afternoon, Trump appointee Aileen Cannon canceled the tentative May 20 date for the case to be tried in Miami and indicated she would not decide on a new date until some time later. time.
The move means the current trial against Trump in Manhattan will likely be the only one the presumptive Republican nominee faces before November’s presidential election.
In announcing his decision, Cannon said there were a “myriad and interconnected” pretrial issues to resolve and that it “would be reckless and inconsistent” to rush to hear the case.
Trump faces 40 charges in the case related to his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith claimed that Trump tried to hide the documents from authorities, including storing boxes in a bathroom at the mansion.
The documents case, considered by some legal experts to be the strongest of four criminal cases brought against Trump, is one of a pair brought by Smith, who also indicted the former president for his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 elections.
That case is stalled while the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the scope of Trump’s immunity for acts committed while in office. A trial in another Georgia election interference case has yet to be scheduled, after a delay caused in part by the withdrawal of a special prosecutor who had a romantic relationship with the prosecutor.
The documents case moved slowly, as Trump’s lawyers found a sympathetic ear in Cannon. Following a series of motions making the original trial date of May 20 unfeasible, the former president’s legal team recommended a new trial date of August 12, while reiterating its position that “a trial fair can only take place after the conclusion of the 2024 presidential election.” Smith requested the trial begin July 8.
Neither date now appears possible, with Cannon having scheduled a series of pretrial hearings through the end of July.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The DoJ declined to comment.
It is the general policy of the DoJ not to initiate politically sensitive prosecutions within 60 days of an election. But a prosecutor told Cannon that a trial within that time frame would not violate that unwritten rule because charges had already been filed.
If Trump is convicted, the maximum prison sentence for each of his 40 counts ranges from five to 20 years.
Because the case is federal, some have speculated that Trump might attempt to pardon himself if elected president, or that he might at least attempt to influence the matter through his DoJ appointees.
