FORT PIERCE, Fla. — US District Judge Aileen Cannon will hear Tuesday from federal prosecutors and attorneys representing former President Donald Trump on charges of mishandling confidential government documents after leaving the White House.
Trump’s lawyers and the special counsel’s prosecutors will discuss how they will handle the classified material in the case and how it will be presented at trial.
Trump’s co-defendant Walt Nauta, who served as an aide to the former president, arrived at the courthouse ahead of the hearing with his defense attorneys Stan Woodward and Sasha Dadan.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, could also share a new perspective on the timing of a trial, an issue that has divided the two sides, with the Justice Department calling in a recent filing for the case to proceed «expeditiously.»
Defense lawyers have urged delaying the trial until after the 2024 presidential election, arguing that the scope of the prosecution makes the schedule «unsustainable.»
“This extraordinary case presents a serious challenge to both the reality and the perception of our American democracy,” lawyers for the former president wrote in a recent filing. Trump is also the favorite in the polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, another feature he complicates. Prosecutors rejected the argument, instead asking Cannon to set a December date.
Cannon could also ask if the charges filed by the government are final, which could reveal new information about the possibility of a replacement indictment, allowing new charges to be added.
The 2 p.m. hearing, at the Cannons local courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, a small waterfront town an hour from Palm Beach, is the first step in an unprecedented case in which Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty. . Trump is not expected to appear on Tuesday.
Trump faces further potential legal risks, with a separate grand jury investigation into an alleged effort to stop the transfer of power after the 2020 election hinting at another allegation.
Shortly before the hearing in Florida, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he received an objective letter on Sunday giving him four days to respond to the grand jury if he wanted to. The former president said the letter «almost always means an arrest and an indictment.»
Last month, Trump pleaded not guilty to a 37-count indictment of mishandling classified documents after leaving office, while Nauta, a Trump aide and former White House valet, pleaded not guilty to six counts. for serious crimes.
Both were prosecuted in a federal court in Miami.