(NewsInsights.org) – Judge Aileen Cannon vacated the May 20 trial start date for former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial in Florida. In a five-page order, she prioritized resolving “myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA issues” — how the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) applies in presenting evidence — before finalizing a new trial date.
Cannon’s order and her subsequent schedule for addressing outstanding motions will push pre-trial motion hearings into late July before she sets a new trial date. Her timing may throw kinks into the schedule Special Counsel Jack Smith had planned.
Trump appointed Cannon to the bench in late 2020. Critics have argued she had little criminal trial experience before taking the position. While Smith has coached her through certain procedural aspects, she has steadfastly resisted several of his pleas. Some observers have also noted that her court has accumulated a growing backlog of unresolved motions, many of which defense counsel has entered, seemingly hoping to delay the proceedings.
The former president is currently attending criminal proceedings in New York. However, he also faces criminal charges in two other jurisdictions: federal election fraud and obstruction charges in Washington, DC, and state election interference charges in Fulton County, Georgia.
Cannon’s trial postponement in Florida could allow either of the other jurisdictions to schedule proceedings preemptively. However, the DC case is awaiting a Supreme Court decision on whether presidential immunity shielded Trump’s actions on and leading up to January 6, 2021.
The High Court heard arguments from Smith and Trump’s legal team on April 25. Observers expect the SCOTUS to decide in June or July, potentially pitting the DC and Florida cases in a scheduling battle.
Yet, some legal pundits have expressed concern about a scenario in which neither case would move forward. The November election could delay the start of the cases until 2025.
Should Trump win the election, he could order the Justice Department to dismiss the charges. Some have conjectured that he could even pardon himself, although accepting a pardon tacitly acknowledges guilt. In that scenario, he would never face trial on federal charges. Additionally, while he remained a sitting President, states would likely defer charges.
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