Trump wants to delay his classified documents trial until after the 2024 election

• Trump and one of his aides want to delay the classified documents trial until after the 2024 election.
• Their defense argues that the former president and Walt Nauta could not get a fair trial before then.
• If the judge grants a delay, Trump could find ways to thwart the case if he were to win the White House again.

Former President Donald Trump wants to delay the trial for his alleged mishandling of classified documents until after the 2024 election, arguing that special counsel Jack Smith's proposed timeline would make it difficult for him to get a fair trial.

Lawyers for Trump and his aide Walt Nauta filed a motion late Monday night that argues that Smith's suggested trial date is unfair due to the election, the number of other trials Trump is facing, and the necessity to have proper time to review government evidence that includes the classified documents themselves. 

The pair's lawyers also virtually repeat Trump's longheld view that the entire investigation is nothing more than a plot to derail his reelection campaign.

"This extraordinary case presents a serious challenge to both the fact and perception of our American democracy," the attorneys wrote. "The Court now presides over a prosecution advanced by the administration of a sitting President against his chief political rival, himself a leading candidate for the Presidency of the United States."

Holding a trial before the election would undoubtably affect the election itself, they argue. The defense gives no alternative date, but their opposition to any trial before the 2024 election is resoundingly clear.

"{[...] There is simply no question any trial of this action during the pendency of a Presidential election will impact both the outcome of that election and, importantly, the ability of the Defendants to obtain a fair trial," the attorneys wrote.

As Politico reported, delaying the trial beyond the election could allow Trump powers to thwart the case if he were to return to the White House. This could potentially trigger a scenario where Trump would test the ability of a president to pardon themselves.

Smith and his team have argued that a speedy trial is the best way to handle the case. His goal was to start the trial in mid-December, just weeks away from the Iowa Republican caucuses and the start of the 2024 GOP primary. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who has ruled favorably for the former president in the past, will now have to reach a decision on when the trial should occur.

Among the other arguments Trump's side made was that his sheer amount of other legal headaches makes it difficult to prepare for a trial in five months, a point that underlines the incredible amount of legal scrunity he is under.

"For example, President Trump and Mr. Blanche are preparing for a March 2024 criminal trial in New York Supreme Court; Mr. Kise and President Trump are preparing for a lengthy civil trial in New York Supreme Court commencing October 2, 2023," the lawyers wrote, citing two of Trump's attorneys, Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise.

Trump is facing criminal charges in New York related to hush money payments to adult film star Storm Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. New York Attorney General Lettia James has also brought civil charges against Trump, his company, and his family for allegedly falsely inflation his net worth and undereporting the value of assets for years, improperly lowering the Trump Organization's tax bill and give it more generous loan terms than deserved. The October date is for the James-related case.