Lawyers for Donald Trump and his personal aide oppose going to trial in their clients’ classified documents case this December as proposed by the government, saying the evidence is too voluminous and that jury selection would be too difficult while the former President pursues a second term in the White House.
“Proceeding to trial on December 11, 2023, would deny counsel for the defendants the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation and “result in a miscarriage of justice,” the defense said in a 12-page filing posted in U.S. District Court late Monday. “An accelerated trial schedule would also be contrary to the interests of our Nation in maintaining the legitimacy of, and confidence in our system of justice.”
Among the matters to be reviewed before a trial can begin, the Trump lawyers said in their motion to put off the trial:
“The classification status of the documents and their purported impact on national security interests,
“The propriety of utilizing any ‘secret’ evidence in a case of this nature, and the potential inability to select an impartial jury during a national Presidential election.
“Moreover, the extensive and voluminous discovery, coupled with the challenges presented by the purportedly classified material that has yet to be produced, will require significant time for review and assimilation.”
The motion is signed by Trump lawyers Christopher Kise of Tallahassee and Todd Blanche of New York, and by attorneys representing the personal aide Waltine Nauta, Stanley Woodward Jr. of Washington and Sasha Dadan of Port St. Lucie,
Earlier Monday, Nauta’s attomeys filed a motion opposing a pretrial hearing scheduled for this Friday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to discusses procedures for handling sensitive papers under the Classified Information Procedures Act. They raised similar arguments of insufficient time to prepare as well as Woodward’s unavailability to appear in court due to a calendar conflict involving an unrelated case.
The lawyers said they agreed with prosecutors to delay until July 18 the hearing on the 1980 law designed to handle classified papers in court. Cannon, who presides in Fort Pierce, has yet to agree to the new date.
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