United States District Court Judge Aileen Cannon has ordered the jury trial of the former president, the first to face criminal charges, to begin on May 20, 2024.
Prosecutors had asked for the trial to begin in December, while defense attorneys for Trump they had requested to do so after the presidential elections in November 2024.
“The Court finds that the interests of justice served by this continuation outweigh the best interest of the public and defendants in a speedy trial,” Cannon wrote.
The trial won’t begin until well into the presidential nomination schedule and likely long after the Republican nominee is clear, though before that person is officially nominated at the Republican National Convention.
TrumpThe 77-year-old is the favorite for the Republican presidential nomination and the trial will take place at the height of the primary campaign to select the party’s champion for the elections.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to more than thirty charges against him in the case of classified documents found at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, after leaving the White House.
According to the indictment, the classified documents that Trump stored in boxes at his home contained “sensitive” information about the United States’ weapons capabilities.
FOUNTAIN: With information from Agencies
