Donald Trump’s trial over classified documents postponed indefinitely

On trial in New York in the Stormy Daniels affair, Donald Trump nevertheless received a breath of fresh air on the legal front on Tuesday May 7. A federal court in Florida has postponed, without setting a new date, the start of its criminal trial in the classified documents case, according to a decision released Tuesday.

This trial was to open on May 20, but the federal judge considered this date untenable due to the number of preliminary requests presented to the court. She has not set a new date but it seems unlikely that a trial could be held in this criminal case before the presidential election in November, in which Donald Trump is a candidate. This is a major setback for special prosecutor Jack Smith.

Donald Trump is being prosecuted along with two of his personal assistants for his management of classified documents in his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, located in this southeastern state, after his departure from the White House in January 2021.

He is accused of having compromised national security by keeping these documents, including military plans or information on nuclear weapons, instead of handing them over to the national archives as required by law.

He is also accused of attempting to destroy evidence in the case. The heaviest charges are punishable by ten years in prison. His lawyers have increased their appeals to delay the holding of a trial in this case.

Four criminal proceedings

Targeted by four separate criminal proceedings, including the one for which he has been appearing since April 15 in New York, Donald Trump repeatedly denounces a ” witch hunt “ hatched by the Democratic administration to eliminate him from the presidential race.

If he were elected again, he could, once inaugurated in January 2025, order the abandonment of the two federal proceedings against him: this case investigated in Florida, as well as that carried out in Washington on the assault on the Capitol.