Trump's lawyers say his classified docs trial should be pushed back because he's too busy balancing his campaign schedule with all the indictments he's facing
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
- Trump's lawyers say his classified documents trial should be postponed until after the election.
- His lawyers argued it's hard for the former president to balance campaigning with all the indictments and lawsuits he's facing.
- If Judge Aileen Cannon — a Trump appointee — agrees, it could allow Trump to pardon himself in 2024 if he wins.
Former President Donald Trump's lawyers argued in court that his trial in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case should be pushed back until after the 2024 election because it's too hard for him to balance campaigning with all the indictments and lawsuits he's facing.
They made the argument while appearing Tuesday before US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, for a pretrial hearing.
Prosecutors have asked Cannon for a speedy trial that wraps up before the end of the year. But Trump's legal team is pushing for the trial to be postponed until after the 2024 election — which would give Trump a way to dodge the charges if he wins in 2024.
Justice Department prosecutor David Harbach told Cannon on Tuesday that Trump's legal team has repeatedly said he should be treated differently because he's a 2024 presidential candidate and the current GOP frontrunner.
But "he should be treated like everyone else," Harbach said.
If Cannon grants Trump's request to postpone the trial until after the election, it would mean that the trial could unfold during a second Trump presidency, and Trump could pardon himself in the event of a conviction. That's assuming he doesn't instruct the Justice Department to drop the case against him altogether.
Trump is facing a slew of criminal indictments and civil lawsuits, which his defense lawyers said are clashing with his plans for the 2024 campaign trail.
During the hearing, Cannon signaled that she wouldn't grant the prosecution's request to start the trial in December, but also appeared not to buy Trump's lawyers' arguments about pushing the trial back after the election, according to CNN.
Cannon said she will "promptly" announce her decision on the trial's start date.
Defense lawyer Christopher Kise told Cannon that Trump is facing a civil trial in late October in New York attorney general Letitia James' $250 million fraud lawsuit against him.
He's also set to face a civil trial in January as part of the columnist E. Jean Carroll's 2019 defamation lawsuit against him. This lawsuit is separate from another suit Carroll filed accusing Trump of sexual assault and defamation. A jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse earlier this year and awarded Carroll $5 million.
A grand jury in New York also indicted Trump in March on 34 counts in connection to his 2016 hush-money payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and that trial is set to kick off next March.
And on Tuesday, Trump revealed that the special counsel Jack Smith's office sent him a letter informing him that he's a target in the Justice Department's sprawling investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Trump announced via Truth Social that he received the letter on Sunday and that Smith gave him four days to appear before the January 6 grand jury — meaning the former president could be hit with his third criminal indictment as soon as this week.