A federal trial concerning Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents during his tenure as president has been indefinitely postponed by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida.
Judge Cannon emphasized the imprudence of setting a trial date before resolving significant questions pertaining to trial evidence.
In her court order issued on Tuesday, the previously scheduled start date of May 20, 2024, for the proceedings was canceled.
Given the current circumstances, the trial is now unlikely to commence before the US election on November 5.
Mr. Trump’s legal team has proposed holding the trial after his potential presidential rematch with Joe Biden, his White House successor. Conversely, prosecutors have advocated for the trial to proceed this year.
However, the likelihood of adhering to the May 20 date set by Judge Cannon diminished as deliberations on various pre-trial matters progressed at a sluggish pace.
The former president faces allegations of retaining top-secret documents following his departure from office, instead of complying with the legal mandate to return them to the National Archives.
Government prosecutors have additionally accused him of obstructing efforts to retrieve the documents, purportedly including plans to erase security footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Mr. Trump, on the other hand, has refuted any allegations of wrongdoing and entered a plea of not guilty to the 40 felony counts brought against him. These charges span from conspiracy to obstruct justice to making false statements.
Accompanying him in facing charges are his personal aide, Walt Nauta, and Carlos de Oliveira, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago. Both individuals have likewise entered pleas of not guilty.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors have engaged in ongoing disputes in court regarding the admissibility of classified evidence at trial, leading to a string of postponements.
Certain legal analysts have proposed that Judge Cannon, frequently favoring Mr. Trump’s positions, may be intentionally prolonging the proceedings on behalf of the individual who nominated her to the bench.
In her filing on Tuesday, the judge slated further hearings to address outstanding issues, including one scheduled for late July, while refraining from setting a new trial commencement date.
