Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith Slams Ex-Prez's Request to Delay Classified Docs Trial Until After 2024 Election
July 14 2023, Updated 11:25 a.m. ET
Donald Trump prosecutor Jack Smith slammed the former president’s request to have his classified documents trial delayed until after the 2024 presidential election, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest development to come after Trump’s legal team requested the classified documents trial be delayed indefinitely last week, Special Counsel Smith’s team responded with a filing of their own on Thursday.
According to the filing, the Department of Justice said that the Trump-appointed judge overseeing the case “should not even consider” delaying the trial beyond its already scheduled December 11, 2023 date.
“In their response in opposition to the Motion (ECF No. 66, “Resp.”), Defendants Trump and [Walt] Nauta claim unequivocally that they cannot receive a fair trial prior to the conclusion of the next presidential election, urge the Court to withdraw the current scheduling Order (ECF No. 28), and request that the Court not even consider a new trial date until some unspecified later time,” Smith’s filing to Judge Aileen Cannon read.
“There is no basis in law or fact for proceeding in such an indeterminate and open-ended fashion, and the Defendants provide none,” the filing continued. “For the reasons discussed below and in the Government’s Motion, the Court should reset the trial date in this action for December 11, 2023.”
Smith also slammed Trump’s reasons for potentially delaying the December trial – namely the concerns that the jury pool would be biased due to the upcoming presidential election in which Trump is currently the Republican frontrunner.
“Defendants’ claim that this Court could not select an impartial jury until after the presidential election does not justify further delay here,” Smith argued further in the filing. “First and most importantly, there is no reason to credit the claim.”
“Our jury system relies on the Court’s authority to craft a thorough and effective jury selection process, and on prospective jurors’ ability and willingness to decide cases based on the evidence presented to them, guided by legal instructions from the Court,” it continued.
“To be sure, the Government readily acknowledges that jury selection here may merit additional protocols (such as a questionnaire) and may be more time-consuming than in other cases, but those are reasons to start the process sooner rather than later.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Trump was indicted last month on 37 felony charges – including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information – in connection to his allegedly illegal possession of classified documents.
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The embattled ex-president was arrested and pleaded not guilty to the 37 charges in a Miami courthouse on June 13.
Then, on July 10, Trump’s legal team filed a request to have the classified documents trial postponed until sometime after next year’s presidential election.
Judge Cannon has not yet announced a decision regarding whether Trump’s delay request will be granted.
