Trump to appear in a Florida courthouse for classified documents case hearing today
Judge Aileen Cannon has previously hinted at potentially delaying the trial, which is set to begin May 20 in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump will hold a key hearing in Florida on Friday as she considers pushing back the trial date of May 20.
The hearing is set to begin in Fort Pierce at 10 a.m. ET and should last most of the day. The judge, Aileen Cannon, has left several issues about how to proceed with the documents case unresolved. Trump is expected to attend the hearing.
In filings Thursday night that had been requested by Cannon, special counsel Jack Smith's office suggested pushing the trial back to July 8, while Trump's lawyers proposed an Aug. 12 start date. Trump's attorneys also made clear that they believe the trial should be pushed back until after November's election.
"As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution, which affords President Trump a Sixth Amendment right to be present and to participate in these proceedings" and "a First Amendment right that he shares with the American people to engage in campaign speech," they wrote.
Both sides also submitted a lengthy joint proposal for a questionnaire for potential jurors, but there were some areas among the 99 questions where they did not agree, including how long the trial will take. Smith's office estimated four to six weeks, while Trump’s team put it at eight to 10 weeks. Smith's team also wants to ask potential jurors if they believe the 2020 election was stolen; Trump's side wants to know whether they voted that year.
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