Although Cannon rejected Trump’s legal team’s request to postpone the case indefinitely, she largely agreed with his arguments that the complexity of the case necessitated scheduling a trial well after the prosecutors’ requested trial date of December this year.
According to Cannon, “The Court rejects Defendants’ request to withhold setting of a schedule now.” “However, the proposed schedule by the Government is unusually accelerated and inconsistent with ensuring a fair trial.”
Trump’s trial is scheduled to begin on May 20, but it is likely to be postponed further because Trump’s legal team has stated they intend to file numerous motions. These motions are probably going to push back the trial date, which could bring it closer to the presidential election and possibly lead to more requests to postpone the trial.
The practice “will require considerable time for Court review, independent of the ultimate merits of any such motions,” Cannon noted in her order, alluding to this.
The Justice Department rejected Trump’s team’s claims that they would need a lot of time to review all the discovery in the case, but noted that several of the attorneys on the case had a delayed application for the security clearances required to review such evidence. Cannon accords considerable weight to these claims in the order.
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“According to conservative estimates, this case has a significant amount of discovery, and as trial day draws near, that amount is most likely to grow. No one disputes that the defendants need enough time to review and assess the extensive discovery, even though the government has taken steps to organize and filter it, Cannon wrote.
There are 37 counts against Trump in the case, including charges of breaking the Espionage Act and obstructing the legal process.