Donald Trump Wants More Time…In That Classified Documents Trial: The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
There are several reasons as to why a trial can still be delayed however – including if the attorneys claim they need more time to prepare their case, or if there are scheduling conflicts.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump’s defense team asked the judge overseeing the classified documents case in Florida to postpone the trial, and they stated there was “no reason for any expedited trial.” This has hardly come as a surprise.
“Proceeding to trial during the pendency of a Presidential election cycle wherein opposing candidates are effectively (if not literally) directly adverse to one another in this action will create extraordinary challenges in the jury selection process and limit the Defendants’ ability to secure a fair and impartial adjudication,” the former president’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
The attorneys, Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, also cited “the sheer volume” of materials that they must review. Trump is the first former president to face federal charges, and it will be up to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, to decide the timing of the case.
The Justice Department has asked for a mid-December trial date, but it is clear that Trump’s team would like to see this case handled after the election – and there has been speculation that if Trump were to win reelection he could technically pardon himself and make this case literally disappear.
“The arguments about whether a president can pardon himself are not only unsettled in the sense that they haven’t come up before, but they’re also unsettled in the sense that reasonable lawyers could look at the materials and say either result is legally defensible,” Harvard constitutional scholar Mark Tushnet told CBS News last month.
It wouldn’t likely be the only pardon Trump could issue upon returning to the White House. The former president has suggested he would consider issuing pardons for many of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and has centered some of them in his campaign appearances.
Donald Trump: Beyond the Florida Case
Even if such a self-directed presidential pardon is possible, and it does make this one case go away, the same can’t be said of all of Trump’s legal woes.
In fact, his legal dance card is rather filled – as the former president is still facing a civil trial in New York this October, as well as a criminal trial in New York in March 2024 on charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over hush money payments Trump allegedly directed to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Former President Trump is also under investigation by a prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia, and federal grand juries in Washington over attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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Donald Trump Just Proved How Stupid He Is
