Fort Pierce - Monday July 17, 2023: The first pre-trial hearing in the classified documents case against former president Donald Trump is scheduled to get underway in the Fort Pierce Federal Court House Tuesday.
Judge Aileen Cannon has ordered both sides to present their arguments for delaying the trial beyond the August 14th date that she has already set.
The Government has asked for a postponement until December 11, Trumps lawyers want an indefinite postponement, at least until after the presidential election in November 2024 arguing that Trump cannot receive a fair trial before then. The Government has already responded saying “There is no basis in law or fact for proceeding in such an indeterminate and open-ended fashion, and the Defendants provide none."
Judge Cannon is expected to take some time to weigh the arguments. No decision on a new trial date is expected Tuesday.
Also to be heard are the dueling claims for procedures to govern what classified documents will be introduced at trial and who gets to see them.
The Classified Information Procedures Act is expected to guide her decision on the documents. The act governs how classified information is handled in a criminal prosecution. It is meant to balance a defendant's right to access evidence prosecutors intend to use at trial with the government's desire to safeguard sensitive, classified information.
Trump faces 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act by taking and refusing to return classified documents when he left office.
The hearing begins at 2 PM Tuesday. Trump will not be in Fort Pierce for this hearing. He’ll be in Iowa campaigning.