(TruthAndLiberty.com) – Jack Smith, a federal prosecutor, has urged a judge to resist delaying the criminal trial against Donald Trump, despite attempts by the former president’s legal team to postpone the Florida case. The defense argues that managing trials in both Florida and Washington, D.C. simultaneously is impractical.
U.S. attorney and special counsel Smith highlighted in a legal filing last Thursday an omission by Trump’s defense: they had not informed the court of their motion in D.C. to suspend the case there until a decision on Trump’s claim to presidential immunity is reached.
An error in Smith’s submission mistakenly suggested the court should be open to manipulation, which was later corrected after Smith’s office clarified to Newsweek the intended message was for the court not to be influenced by such maneuvers.
The Florida trial, led by Judge Aileen Cannon, centers on the discovery of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. An FBI raid last summer yielded over 13,000 documents, with 103 classified as top secret. The issue at stake is the alleged unauthorized retention of these documents by Trump post-presidency, a violation of federal laws requiring classified materials to be surrendered for archival purposes after a presidential term.
This case is one of several legal battles Trump faces, with Smith also prosecuting a D.C. case related to accusations of Trump attempting to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. Further, Trump is embroiled in a trial in Georgia over allegations of conspiring to tamper with the state’s 2020 election results.
Trump has consistently denied any misconduct and has entered a not guilty plea in all cases.
His legal team has been endeavoring to delay the trial regarding the classified documents in Florida until after the presidential election in 2024. The election fraud case in D.C. is anticipated to start on March 4, while the Florida trial is slated for May 20.
Judge Cannon, in a discussion about the trial delay, indicated a readiness to consider schedule changes but stopped short of confirming a delay. She questioned the practicality of meeting the demanding schedule given the current situation. Following this discussion, Smith submitted his filing, stressing that the D.C. trial date shouldn’t influence the Florida case schedule and criticizing Trump’s broader strategy of attempting to defer both trials.
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